


Dulcius pro patria vivere

by TheKnittingLady



Series: Tau Ceti [2]
Category: Criminal Minds, The Powers of Matthew Star
Genre: Beating, F/M, Gang Rape, Human Trafficking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-14
Updated: 2013-10-04
Packaged: 2017-12-26 13:05:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 17
Words: 21,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/966264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKnittingLady/pseuds/TheKnittingLady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An old enemy comes back to haunt the BAU, but they have an ally they didn't expect.  Sequel to "Look to the Stars."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope, the best comfort of our imperfect condition.  
> \- Edward Gibbon

**Chapter 01  
3 pm Tuesday**

_“She’s stronger than she looks”_

_He turned to look at the dark-haired, dark-eyed woman sitting on the grass next to him.  “Is she?”_

_“Yes.  She appears delicate and fragile because surrounding herself with delicate and fragile things brings her pleasure.  But she herself is remarkably strong.  She’s a good choice for you.”_

_“You were a good choice for me.”_

_The woman smiled.  “And you were for me.  But don’t let that stop you.  You should complete the dance with her.  Soon.”_

_He felt himself blush as he responded to that slightly.  “I wanted to dance with you.”_

_“I know”_

_“I should have danced with you.”_

_“No.  That is for her, as her dance is for you.  It’s always been that way.”  She reached over and gently caressed his temple.  “It’s all about what’s in here.”_

_“But what about you?  I thought you were my destiny.”_

_“She is your destiny.  Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.   If you turn away from love to honor my memory you will dishonor my legacy.  Love and do wonderful things with that love and you will honor me forever more.”  The woman smiled.  “Just never forget how strong she can be.”_

* * *

 

“Reid.  Wake up.”

Spencer Reid opened his eyes and blinked owlishly up at Morgan.  “Wha?  I said I was going to nap.”  They had had a string of late nights chasing this Unsub, as a result they were all taking naps in sequence.  This was supposed to be his turn.

“You have to come see this.”

Spencer found his glasses and balanced them on his nose.  There hadn’t been a video related component to this case, or even good pictures.  And if another body had been found Morgan would have said so.  “Something for the case?’

“Nope”

“Then why?”  Spencer got up and stretched to get the blood flowing.  “Is there coffee?”

“You’re not supposed to have coffee anymore, remember?”  Morgan handed him a cup of hot water spiked with lemon juice.  “Davis wants us to watch it.”

That instantly got Spencer’s attention.  “Davis?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you say to Hotch?”

“Blake did.”

Well, when it came to that Blake did have seniority.   Spencer sipped at the brew, marveling once again at how refreshing it actually was when you had just woken up.  “What is it?”

“Not a clue.  Come on.”

They assembled in the conference room, where the TV was on to one of the major networks, which was in the middle of a Breaking News Alert.  “The President will be on any moment.”  The anchor was saying.  “What’s going on?”  He asked Blake.

“I have no idea.”  She said.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the anchor said, solemnly, “The President of the United States.”

The shot changed to the tradition setting, grand desk, gold curtains, outside the windows behind him fall was just starting to color the leaves in Washington.  “My fellow Americans,” the man at the desk said.  “For the past several months there have been rumors going around Washington, the United States, and the world as a whole, increasing strength and credibility, claiming that alien beings have landed on Earth and have taken up residence within the United States.  I am here tonight to forestall panic and explain the situation as wholly and honestly as I can, given the events unfolding.  First off let me say that there is a base line truth to these rumors.  Aliens have landed on earth and they are living among us now.”

Spencer met Morgan’s eyes, felt Blake’s tension beside him.  Oh boy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sequel to "Look to the Stars, but I think it stands alone. Cannon for Criminal Minds through the end of Season 8, The Powers of Matthew Star loosely through 01x09 "Triangle", but the two characters are mine based in that universe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**   
**3 pm Thursday**

“Okay.”  Dave said as they felt the plane rise into the heavens, “Aliens.”

By common agreement they had set aside all discussion about the President’s announcement until they had solved the case and were on the way home.  Agree with his politics or not the man was a master orator who had managed to dispel any panic.  He had explained that they were humanoid and intelligent and here to open diplomatic relations, not to conquer or cause any damage or disruption; that there was a small diplomatic team working with the US and that the US, working with the UN had sent a small team off with them to open relations at that end and that, right now, everything was very contained and entirely in control.  In the end there had been a few, small demonstrations, mostly welcoming, some wanting them to get out, and much internet chatter, but most people had gone about their business, at most a little disappointed that none of the movies and Hollywood legends were coming true.

None of that, however, applied to the group inside the plane.  This was one of the rare occasions when that group included Garcia, who had gone all aflutter the moment Dave opened his mouth.  “Oh my god, I know.  Is this amazing or what?”

“It is.”  Dave agreed.  “Now I, for one, want the inside scoop.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the thing some of us did a year ago.  Protocol 3372,” he said.  “This fits what we know of it.”

Spencer and Morgan looked over at Blake.  She was the senior member of their work group after all.  Back when it first happened the decision had been made to not read the rest of the team in; just in case, but now that it was at least partially public knowledge… she sighed.  “Okay, this information does not leave this plane, agreed.”

“Of course,” Hotch said.  “And that includes over the internet.”  He gave Garcia a Significant Look.

“Of course, of course,” she said.

Blake took a deep breath, “Yes, we were on the first contact team.”  The rest of the team relaxed into it, now that they knew.   “Spencer and I worked on the contingency protocols, oh, back before he joined the BAU, as linguists.” 

“You were trying to talk to them?”  JJ asked.

“We were applying the concept of mathematical linguistics to the problem.”  Spencer replied.  “Mathematical concepts are universal constants.  We thought that if they were alien enough to make normal communication difficult we might be able to use that to circumvent the language barrier.”

“And did you?”

“It, um, turned out that we didn’t need to.  They’re more Vulcan than little green men.  Morgan actually had an easier time of it at first once Emily called him in.”

“Morgan?”  JJ looked skeptical.

“Charades,” he said.  “Hey, it worked.  Thankfully they picked up English real quick.”

“So they _are_ here.”  Dave said.  “You’ve met them.  What are they like?”

“Really nice people,” Blake said.  “This is one delegation from one planet.  As they’ve proven to us they’re a member of a larger political body, something like our UN.  Seven planets make up what you might call the Security Council, but there are hundreds of others.  They’re one of the seven, and the one most like us.”

“Are they like us?”  Garcia asked.  “I mean, like bodies and everything?”

Spencer said.  “When I said Vulcans I meant it, or maybe like the Doctor.  If Mr. Spock hid his ears or you didn’t know that the Doctor had two hearts you couldn’t tell that they were from another planet.  Externally they are completely humanoid in every way.”

“Jeepers.”

“Externally?”  Hotch asked.

“Their planet has a slightly heavier gravity, so they have increased bone and muscle mass and some extra internal structures for stability.  It also has a slightly thinner atmosphere, so they have a larger lung capacity.  But most of the differences are on the metabolic level, they react differently to medications, have to avoid certain foods, that sort of thing.”

“Interesting, do you know why they are here?”

“Originally?”  Blake said.  “It was due to the Kuipler belt.  Apparently our solar system has a natural protective barrier that doesn’t allow large ships through.  Nothing larger than a six passenger scout, something about half the size of the space shuttle, can get through at all.  Their planet was a constitutional monarchy, similar to the UK here on Earth.  When their explorers discovered Earth a hundred years ago they kept it a secret in case their royal family ever needed a safe haven.”

“Does this mean they have?”  Hotch asked.

Blake nodded, “About thirty-five years ago now.  The League of Allied Planets was attacked by an outside force.  Unfortunately their planet was the first attacked.  At that time the King sent the Crown Prince off into hiding with the Royal Physician, here on Earth.  Sometime later the King himself was executed along with their military leaders.   The planet itself was completely sterilized and their people taken in to slavery.”

“Ouch.”  JJ said.

“Their allies were able to rescue the people, and resettle them into refugee camps on other world, but it’s been a nightmare for them.”

“I can imagine.”

“So the Crown Prince lived here?”  Garcia asked.

“Yep.  Two aliens, hiding in LA for decades until a ship came for them.  We intercepted it this time, that’s when we made first contact.”

“What do they want from us now?”  Dave asked.  “You don’t initiate diplomatic relations just for fun.”

Blake smiled.  “Okay, simple, skate around the still classified stuff version.  The one thing they were able to retrieve from their planet is what they’re calling ‘seed stock’.  As you might guess it’s absolutely precious to them, almost to the point of religious significance.  As they explained it there are two kinds.  For lack of a better term we’ll call one weaponized, one not.  The last remnants of their leaders, the ones who survived the purge long enough to be rescued, arranged for safe storage of the weaponized seed stock with a trusted ally.  But after they were gone another ally talked the new leaders into storing their non-weaponized seed stock with them while at the same time giving them ships and hard weapons so they could fight back.  Unfortunately in the past year it’s come to light that that ‘ally’ has been experimenting on their seed stock in an attempt to create a weaponized stock that they could control.  This has resulted in the destruction of some of the stock.”

“The only thing they have left.”  JJ shook her head.  “That can’t be good.”

“They are furious.  If they weren’t fighting an external threat the entire League would be turning on the planet that did it.  But right now they need to maintain internal cohesion in the face of this external threat so instead of a major confrontation they are quietly removing their seed stock and hiding it somewhere else.”

“Here,” Dave concluded.

Blake nodded.  “They trust us to not want to start a war by messing with their stocks.  Besides, they were able to identify a similar seed stock here, native to our planet, which they agreed to help us develop in tandem with their own.”

“Develop?”  Garcia asked.

“We’re not talking guns you can just unpack and use.  It takes anywhere from fifteen to twenty years to turn a seed into a weapon.  But they are entirely self contained and pose no danger to our ecosystem while they’re working with them, we are completely compatible.”

“And what do we get in exchange for how much storage space and development assistance?”    Dave asked.

“For now we’ve built an underground facility out in Nevada.”  Blake said.  “Yes, aliens are coming and going from Area 51 now.  It’s about the size of an airplane hangar and entirely self contained.  When the time comes they’ll be setting up a colony and work area out at Ft. Detrick, maybe a hundred individuals, no more.  In exchange we’re getting a massive technology infusion, fusion reactors and transport ideas that will get us off fossil fuels inside a decade, techniques for dealing with global warming, and plans for ships and engines that can get us to Mars inside a few hours.”

 “Damn.  This stuff must be pretty valuable to them to exchange a little space for all that.”

“It’s the most precious thing there is.”

“So you guys know these diplomats?”  Garcia asked.

“Yes, we do.”  Blake replied.  “We’re helping them acclimate to our culture.”

“Meaning you’re working three jobs right now?”  JJ said, “BAU, teaching at Georgetown and working for State?”  This earned a pained smile from Blake.

“Can we meet them?”  Garcia asked.

“They want to keep their identity quiet.”  Morgan told her, “Too many freaks out there.”

“Oh.  Yeah, I can see that.”  Garcia sighed.  “Aliens.  Jinkies.  You can’t tell us anything about them at all?  I mean, as people?”

“We can tell you they love it here.”  Spencer said.  “They had to live in space for years on end.  Now they’re thrilled to be on a planet again, sunlight, fresh air, real food….”

“Real food?”  JJ asked.

“They lived on a diet similar to MRE’s for years.”  Spencer said.

“Yeah, you want to see an alien?  Don’t go to Area 51.”  Morgan said.  “Hang out at the Farmer’s Market at Dupont Circle.”

“Morgan!”  Blake looked at him sternly.

“Which I will not do,” Garcia said.  “As tempted as I am.”

Hotch cleared his throat.  “Maybe we should change the subject.” 

They did.  For now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 03**  
6 pm Thursday  
  
“So where is everyone going for the week?”  Garcia asked later.  “I never had a chance to ask, we’ve been so busy.  Ten days of vacation, am I the only one staying home?”

“Jack and I are heading up to New York to visit Beth.”  Hotch said.

“And I’m heading to Montreal.  James has a conference.”  Blake said.

“Book tour,” Rossi said.  “I’ll be in the Seattle and Vancouver area the whole time.”

Morgan took a deep breath.  “Eva and I are going to Chicago for the first few days.”  He said.

“You’re introducing her to your family?”  JJ asked.

He hesitated, but finally nodded, “Yeah.”

“Oh wow.  That’s serious.”

“She’s worth it.  What about you?”

“Disney.”  JJ said.  “Henry is finally old enough.”

“Awww,” Garcia turned to Spencer.  “Are you going too?”

He shook his head.  “Nope, Sarah and I are going up to the cabin.  Ten days of peace and quiet.”

“And romantic nights by the fire,” Morgan said.

“I am so not responding to that.”

Hotch looked around as the pilot signaled him, “Looks like we’re almost there.  It’s late, file your preliminary reports electronically, we’ll complete the paper versions when we get back.  Let’s all go have a good vacation.”

* * *

 

**10 pm Thursday**

They got back in ample time.  Alex Blake left the FBI building, stopped at home to change clothes and bags and headed for the airport.

At midnight she walked out of the airport in Montreal and in to her husband’s arms.

* * *

 

**8 am Friday**

The next morning dawned clear and crisp; the kind of morning that promised a lovely Indian summer kind of day.

By 8 am Dave Rossi was in the airport, boarding a flight out to Seattle.  Seven hours later he had fully switched over to author mode, and was looking forward to a week of good food, pleasant company and time off from being a cop for a while.

* * *

 

**10 am Friday**

“You’re nervous.”  Morgan said.  It wasn’t a question.

Eva Shepherd broke off from trying to look at every single thing they were passing to look over at him as they slowly made their way through the security line at the airport.  “Of course I am.  What did you expect?”

“Please tell me this isn’t about meeting my Momma.”  He was shuffling himself, for some reason he could not stand still.

“No.  Well, not entirely.”  She turned her head as a long string of luggage carts went by.  “What are those?”

“Carts you can rent to help with luggage.  Is it about leaving your girl?”  He knew she took her job as Companion seriously, this was the first time she and her friend Sarah had ever spent this much time apart.  He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

“No, this planet is safe.  And that girl is better at taking care of herself than you might think.”  She turned to look at the checkpoint again.  “I can get out of going through that thing, right?”

The last thing they needed was for her to go anywhere near an x-ray machine.  “Yeah, just ask for a pat down.  Okay, then what is bothering you?”

“You’re going to think it’s silly.”

“Fair warning, now lay it on me.”  Some expert trained profiler he was.  If the TSA guys were paying any attention to his microexpressions right now they’d never be allowed on the plane.

“Flying.  It’s just…I’m nervous about it.”

He had to laugh at that.  “Oh no.  No.  I saw that tin can you came here in.  No one flies as far as you did in one of those and gets away with saying she’s afraid of flying.”

“Yeah, but I was the one doing the flying.  I don’t like being on a ship when I don’t know the pilot.”

Morgan laughed all the way to the checkpoint.

* * *

 

**12 noon Friday**

“You ready?”  Aaron Hotchner asked his companion as they got to the airport.

“’Course I am, Dad.”  Jack replied.

Hotch smiled.  Jack was ten now, not yet at the age of rolling his eyes and huffing at his father’s lack of understanding.  That time was coming; he could feel it on the horizon, but not yet.  Not yet.  For now he was enjoying being Superman while he could.  “Right then, let’s go explore some more of New York.”

* * *

 

**1 pm Friday**

Spencer turned off the engine of the SUV and smiled. 

There was no sound

None.

It was completely quiet.

“You can relax now.”  Sarah Star told him.

He turned to look at the woman in the seat beside him.  “Sure?”

In response she closed her eyes and concentrated for a good thirty seconds.  Then she smiled and he felt the connection between them open and flow, a warm heat that soothed and comforted even as it aroused.  _Yes._ She thought to him.  _There’s no one else in range.  Go ahead._

Spencer leaned his head back against the seat and let his shields drop.

Imagine, he had once said to Morgan, having your neighbor playing his stereo at full volume.  A wide ranging mix of music, some you liked, much you didn’t, some that left you anxious or even scared.  Only it was like that constantly, it ebbed sometimes but it never went away and you couldn’t get away.  Your only defense was to hold up a sound barrier, kind of pin it against the wall with your arms.  Only it didn’t block the sound, it just muffled it.  You could still tell it was there, could kind of feel the beat, you just couldn’t make out the lyrics.  That was the best you could do and in the meantime your arms got real tired.

That was what it was like to be a fledgling telepath in the city. 

It was easier for Sarah.  She had naturally stronger powers and years of practice on top of it.  But even she had done too much for the longest time and now tended to wear out if left there too long.  Respites at the cabin had become essential; the only other mind for miles was the gentle, nurturing presence of your lover.

Soon to be lover, he thought, and hopefully soon to be wife.  As their emotions gentle mingled, the joy of being together, gratitude at having this time, the feeling of stress ebbing away, it was only natural to tug her into his arms.  Soon, he thought.  Maybe this will be the time we finally dance.

 _Quite possible._   She thought, as her lips found his.

* * *

 

**4 pm Friday**

This was the one problem with two working adults; they couldn’t leave until Will got off work.  But he was supposed to be getting off early, he should he home at any time.  JJ flew around the bedroom, making sure they had everything for a week with the mouse. 

“Can I take this, Mom?”  Henry came in holding up…something.

“If you want to, honey.”  Whatever it was it was at least small enough to fit.  “But if it’s something you don’t want to lose you might not want to bring it with you.  It might be better to leave it safely at home.”

“Hum, okay.”  He wandered off again.

JJ smiled to herself.  She had this working mom thing down to a science.  Her work never, ever came home anymore.  She kept it all compartmentalized as well as Emily used to, and kept her family safe from it all.  I can even get beat the crap out of an Unsub, come home and be perfectly organized for Disney in under twenty-four house, she thought.  Damn I’m good.

 Just then they heard the back door open.  “Dad!”  Henry called out as he ran toward the stairs.

JJ just chuckled as he ran off.  “Hey Will.  Welcome home.”  No answer.  Maybe he didn’t hear her.  “We’re ready to go when you are.”  No answer.   Uh oh. “Do not tell me they want you to work this week-end.”  Still no answer.  Damn it.  They must, that’s why the guilty silence.  “Will?”

“Mommy?”  Henry called up, his voice quavering, almost too quiet.

JJ stopped in her tracks, her hackles rising.  That wasn’t Henry’s excited voice.  That was his scared voice, his too scared to scream voice.  She dropped what she was doing and went to the nightstand, pulling her spare weapon out, but keeping it low as she headed down to the kitchen. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 04**   
**8 pm Friday**

Aaron Hotchner opened his eyes and groaned.  There was a very bright light above him, causing an annoying pain in his head.  Fine, he closed them again.

A moment later what he had seen filtered up to his consciousness and he scrambled up, his heart slamming against his chest.

He was in a cage.

It was some kind of large warehouse type structure.  He was surrounded by a sturdy chain link cage on nearly every side, except that the back was up against the concrete wall.  And he was in his boxers and undershirt.

The first, panicked thought that went through his mind was of his son.  “Jack?  Jack!!”

No reply.

He scrambled to his feet and looked around.  No Jack.  But Beth was lying on the floor not far away.

Oh no.

He quickly moved to her side to check.  She was breathing evenly and her eyes showing signs of heavy sedation.  When he moved her he spotted a small bruise, indicative of the use of an autoject, probably to deliver the sedative.  Like him she had been stripped of her outer clothing and was only clad in her bra and panties, the black lace he had always favored.  For a moment he thought of Haley that horrible sick feeling returned, the way he felt when he was driving as fast as he could, knowing she was trapped with a monster and nothing would make it right again.  He couldn’t lose someone to the monsters again.  Not again, please.

And Jack.  What had they done with Jack?  In that horrible moment every pedophile case fine he had ever read came back to him and he bent double, heaving.  Not Jack.  He was just a kid; he didn’t deserve to be caught up in the horror of the job.  He had already lost his mother to it, that was more than anyone should have to endure.  Not Jack, please not Jack.

Breathe, he thought, and think.  He squinted through the cage mesh at the room around him.  There were four large cages, each set well apart.  The one across from him and the one to his right were empty.  There were two figures in the fourth, he couldn’t make them out but they were both adults. 

He focused back, deep breaths, cognitive technique.  They had landed in New York, and taken a cab to Beth’s apartment.  She had buzzed them up, but she hadn’t said anything over the intercom, had she?  Yes, she said “Yes?” just that and he had announced himself.  Then they went up and as they got to the hall she had opened her door and Jack had gone running in…

He remembered now.  He’d told Jack to stop running, turned into the apartment expecting to see Beth greeting Jack or maybe in the kitchen.  But what he had seen was horror.  Men, a number of them, and guns, pointed at Beth, pointed at Jack.  He’d panicked for a second, and someone grabbed him and a bite on the arm even as he was throwing a punch…

Drugged, he thought, I was drugged.  And Beth was as well, and where did they take Jack?  Are they targeting me?  The team?  Was it a coincidence?

Too many questions, not nearly enough answers.  Right now all he could do was pull Beth’s head into his lap and fight down the terror that threatened to overwhelm him.

* * *

 

 “Oh my stars…”  Eva looked over at Morgan and showed him the picture in her hand.  It was of him in his cowboy Halloween costume when he had been four.  “Look at you.”

Morgan just chuckled as he slouched down into his mother’s couch and took a hit of his beer.  It had gone far better than he had hoped.  Eva had matched strength with his sisters right off, the three of them were thick as thieves, and his mother already approved.  Now they had the old family photos out and were going through the process of weaving her into the fabric of life here in the old neighborhood.  Tomorrow he was going to show her around a bit and then they were slated for a bigger gathering with his extended family.  He was looking forward to it now, the worst was over.

Except that some of them were impatient.  “That sounds like Yvonne’s car.”  His mother said as the sound of someone parking filtered in from the street.  “She said she was coming over with dessert.”

He just laughed harder.  “She just couldn’t wait, could she?”

“You know your Aunt.  Go get the door for her.”

Morgan got up and obediently opened the door.  Sure enough Auntie Yvonne was getting out of her car and leaning back in to get something in a bakery box out of the back.  That was normal.  So was the pack of boys walking by, asking her if it was for them.  “Hey!”  He called down, getting them to keep moving.  But neither they nor his Aunt’s cake was enough to cause the hairs on the back of his neck to lift like they were.

There was a man watching the house.

He was across the street and down a ways, leaning against a corner in an alley.  It was casual enough that an untrained observer might not notice, and at this distance Morgan both couldn’t see his face and knew that he would disappear before he could get to him.  But he could tell that he was watching.  “Hey, Desiree, come here.”

“What?”  She asked, joining him in the doorway.

He nodded to the guy across the street.  “Someone been hanging around, watching the place?”

“Not that I noticed; could just be holding up the building.  You gonna go start trouble?”

He considered it.  On the one hand, his instincts were going off.  On the other they were twitchy, and this was his second beer, and did he want to start trouble with Eva here and have to explain it not only to the local LEOs and Hotch but also to Davis?  “No.  Just gonna keep an eye on it is all.”

“Okay.  Hey Auntie Yvonne….”

* * *

 

**9 pm Friday**

Hotch had lost track of how many times he had paced around the enclosure.  He had noticed the buckets, one full of fresh water, the other empty, and the cameras that hung safely out of reach.  He had addressed them briefly, asking whoever did this to come in and talk.  And he had tried every possible means he could think of to open the door of his cell.  It was no use; he was well and truly trapped.  But why?  Why?  What had he done to deserve this, if he had done anything at all?

It wasn’t long before he received the first clue as to why.  The man in the far cell started to stir.  Following much the same procedure as Hotch had he rolled over onto his back, blinked at the light, groaned, threw his arm over his eyes to shield them, and then scrambled to his feet as what happened kicked in.  “Henry?  Henry!!”

Damn it.  “Will.”  He said quietly. 

The younger man turned to the familiar voice.  “Hotch.  What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know.  I don’t think I’ve been awake that long.  No one has come in so far.  At least we know they’re targeting the team.  I assume that’s JJ in there with you.”

He saw Will’s form kneel down to look.  “Yeah, it is.  She’s alive.  Breathing.  Drugged I’ll bet.  Is that Beth?”

“They were waiting for us when we got to her apartment, they had her at gunpoint.  Do you remember what happened?”

“A bunch of guys jumped out and got me in the driveway.  They must have used my keys to get in the house.  No sign of the boys?”

“None.”

“No clue who this is?”

“No.  But it feels familiar.”

“Girls haven’t woken up yet?”

“No.  Lower body mass, it will take them longer to metabolize the drug.  And by now the team should be looking for us.”

 “No, they’re not.”  Will said.  Hotch turned to look at him.  “Vacation, it’s going to be ten days before they even know we’re gone.”

Hotch sighed.  He was right.  No one was supposed to check in at all.  “Maybe we should all start vacationing together.”

 “Maybe so.”

There was nothing to do but wait, so they waited.

Sometime later Beth and JJ both began to stir.  JJ reacted much the same way they had, blinking awake, taking a moment to register, and then leaping to her feet.  “Will!  Henry!”

“He’s not here sugar.”  Will said.

“What is all this?”

“It looks like someone is targeting the team.”  Hotch said.

“Hotch?  Who?”

“I don’t know.  We haven’t seen anyone yet.”

“Aaron?”  Beth’s voice was tremulous and small in the space.  He looked down into her frightened eyes as they blinked up at him.  “What is this?  What’s happening?”

Damn it.  JJ and Will were strong, both good cops, good agents with hostage training under their belts.  Beth was a civilian, she had no idea.  “Sweetheart, it’s going to be all right.  I don’t know yet but we’re going to find a way out of this.”

“What is ‘this’?  Where are we?”

“I don’t know.  As soon as we see someone….”

But then they did see someone.  The door to the warehouse room slid open and two men walked in, both young and large, dressed in the traditional working man’s wardrobe, jeans, t-shirts, work boots, all utterly anonymous.  They were speaking quietly, some language that sounded Eastern European, giving every indication of two guys at work.  “Finally,” Hotch said.  He eased Beth off his lap and got to his feet.  “Who are you?  What’s going on here?” 

The men didn’t answer.  Instead they raised a weapon at him and fired.

In the half second it took for the barbs to reach him Hotch recognized a taser.  But then it was all over.  The electrical charge raced through his body, firing into his muscles and rendering them useless.  He landed on the ground hard, flopping, useless, unable to do a thing.

“No!  No!  Aaron?”  Beth tried to back away but she had no training.  While he flopped there they were easily able to grab her and half drag/half carry her out of the cell.  “Aaron!?!”

 “Hey!”  JJ yelled at them.  “You want to fuck with an FBI agent?  Bring it on!  Right here!”

But it was no use.  Even though she was kicking and screaming the two men dragged Beth away and slid the door shut behind them.  Hotch heard the distinct sound of a heavy lock being slammed home.  “No.”  He screamed, but it came out a whisper.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 05  
10 pm Friday**

 “I’m always afraid these movies are going to give you nightmares.”  Spencer said.

He and Sarah were curled up on the floor of the cabin, cozy before the fire in a nest of blankets and pillows on a futon pad he’d brought up before for just this purpose.  Over the past year he had been introducing her to his favorite films and TV shows.  Thankfully she saw the sci-fi movies as comedies and didn’t understand horror films at all, but he was still concerned that one of them might trigger a PTSD reaction of some kind.  “They haven’t yet.”  She said as she dropped beside him, a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a bowl of trail mix in the other.  “And I’m still catching up with your culture.  This visual medium of yours is a major part of it.  I need to catch up.”

“I know.”  He rolled and tucked and made space as she curled up next to him and against him.  He was tall enough to see over her head as she spooned in, but as usually he was quickly distracted by the soft scent of her hair and her skin and the feel of her pressed into his lap.  His half-erection was unmistakable, as was the hot stab of desire that surely could be felt over the link between them.  “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.”  She replied as she looked over her shoulder, her big blue eyes looking up at him, and at the same time he got the sense that she was considering skipping the movie.

He was considering it too.  But he knew that for her people, for the Nobility, that was something that once done could not be undone.  So he wanted to be sure.  More than that he wanted her to be sure, before they went that far.  “Movie?”

She slowly smiled.  “Sure.”

* * *

 

Henry LaMontagine woke with a start.  He’d been having a nightmare, a horrible, horrible nightmare.  He’d dreamed that he’d gone running downstairs to meet Dad only to have strange men in the kitchen, strange men with guns.  One of them grabbed him and told him to call his mother down and not say anything else or he would kill dad.  So he called for Mommy, because when he was sacred she was Mommy.  When they heard her coming the man pushed something into his mouth then stuck a water bottle in there and made him drown.

It was the drowning part that made him wake up.

He didn’t know where he was.  He was in some kind of bed, something that felt like a bunk bed, in a space that was very, very dark and was moving.  He looked around but he couldn’t see much of anything at first, but then he started to see bits of light flashing here and there in the darkness. 

Maybe that wasn’t a nightmare.

Problem was he was hungry, and felt kind of sick from all the moving, and he had to pee real bad.  Maybe he could find a way down from the bunk and have a look around.  He scooted closer to the edge to take a look.

“Henry?”  A voice said quietly.  “Are you awake?”

Henry nearly lost it right there.  He clamped down so he wouldn’t pee himself and scooted back into the bunk.

“It’s Jack.”  The voice said.  “It’s okay, there’s no one else in here.”

Jack.  Jack Hotchner.  That was who the voice belonged to.  Henry crawled back to the edge and looked into the bunk below.  Sure enough, there was the older boy, peeking out through a corner of the window.  “Hey Jack.”

“Hey.”

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

“So go.  There’s no lights, you have to kind of feel your way, but it’s right next to the bunks.”

“How do I get down?”

“There’s a ladder over here.”  Henry sensed movement more than he saw it, and followed it to the ladder.  A moment later he scrambled down.  “The bathroom is over this way.”  Henry followed the moment over to a small door, which led to a room that was even blacker than black.  But some feeling around revealed a toilet and a small sink which worked.

He did what needed doing, washed his hands as best he could, and then went back around to the bottom bunk, climbing in to sit across from Jack.  “What happened?”

“Bad men took us.”  Jack said.  “They took my Dad and Beth when we were in New York.”

“I think they took my Mommy and Daddy too.”  Henry said.  “Where are we?”

“I don’t know.  It’s real dark out.  I could only peel off a corner of the window covering.  I’m trying to watch the road signs to see where we go.”

Henry reached up and found that some kind of plastic something had been kinda glued to the windows.  “Maybe we can get some more off.  Want to try?”

“Sure.”

They set to work peeling off the plastic inch by inch.  “What’s gonna happen?”  Henry asked.

“I dunno.”

“Think we’ll be found?”

There was a silence then.  He didn’t know it but it was the silence of a boy growing up a little very fast, and trying to decide if he should be honest or not scare his younger friend.  “Yeah.”  He said at last.  “My Dad is like superman, he can find anyone.”

“Yeah.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 06  
3am Saturday**

“What are you thinking?”  Will asked

JJ sighed.  She was stretched out on the cold concrete floor, her head resting on her husband’s thigh, taking what small comfort she could in knowing where he was at least.  “Henry.”  She said.  “Is he cold?  Is he scared?  Is he hurt?  Are they… “  She covered her face in her hands and tried not to think of all the cases she had seen.

“Stop, chere.”  Will said.  “We’ll help him through it; we’ll fix it up somehow.  He’ll still turn out all right, you know that.”  He ran his fingers through her cornsilk hair.  “We’ll get Derek to help.”

“Yeah, I know.”  Look at Morgan.  It took work but in the end he turned out just fine, strong and happy.  No matter what happened they’d help Henry to the same.  “I’m still worried about him.”

“Call me a selfish bastard, but I’m more worried about you.  “

She rolled her eyes and snorted.  “Don’t worry about me, I can handle it.  If they get too close I’ll rip their balls off.  I just keep thinking of all the kid cases.  We had this one, called the kid Peter…”

“Stop, chere.  Don’t think about that.  Focus on your profile, isn’t that supposed to be the most helpful thing?”

“Yeah.”  What were they thinking?  “Hotch?”

“Yeah JJ.”  Hotch said.

“Do we have enough to start a profile?”  She thought for a moment.  “Organized offender.  Meticulous planning.  Strong enough personality to draw a group to him.”

“Yes, but this doesn’t feel like a cult of personality.  If it was he would have been in here trying to convert us by now.”  Hotch said. 

“Those boys sounded like they were speaking in Russian.”  Will said.  “From the looks of them I want to say Mob.  That kind of confidence.”

All of a sudden it clicked.  “Oh shit.”  JJ said.

“Of course.”  Hotch said.

“What?”  Will asked.

“About, oh, four or five years ago we helped Andi Swann over in human trafficking break up a ring.  She was trying to get someone in undercover, only the agent’s cover was blown and we had to run an emergency raid to get her out.  As a result we couldn’t get the entire organization, only the one localized to the DC/Baltimore area.”

“I remember that.”  Will said.  “So you didn’t stop them, you just pissed them off.”

“This set up fits their MO.  Right down to the chain link.”

“So you think they’re selling us off?”

“No, they didn’t sell.  It was more like a very underground brothel system.  You had to be a known underworld type to be invited to the party, then you could rent someone for the night.  No limits.  That way they kept control of the victims, less of a chance of leaks.  And their control was tight, if a car transporting some hadn’t gotten into an accident we wouldn’t have had the break we did.  It took Andi years to even get that far.”

“This is their revenge.”   Hotch said

“Russian mobsters don’t get revenge.”  Will said.  “They get what they see as fairness.  You shut down a branch they had to build back up, victims, trust with the customers, all that costs.  Now they want their money back.  And probably to show off to the locals how bad ass they are.  Look at us, we took out the top unit of the FBI.  Now how does knowing this help?”

“I don’t know yet.”  Hotch said.  “Give me time.”

* * *

 

 

**5am Saturday**

Dave Rossi was just getting back from a very late night.  He had taken part in a fund raiser for a veteran’s charity; people paid so much for a seat at a table with an author.  And he had given them their money’s worth, telling entertaining stories just modified enough to protect victims and families and delicate stomachs.  And after it had been a trip to the bar on the wealthiest patron at the table, for good cigars and better scotch and more storytelling until the wee hours.  The charity had made far more than they had hoped, and then he donated on top of it.  All in all it had been a very nice evening.

But a late one.  Now he was tucking in to bed without sparing a thought for his phone or his personal e-mail, let alone anything from work.  His only thoughts were to what promised to be an equally pleasant day tomorrow.

* * *

 

At precisely 5am a message with a video attached landed in Dave Rossi’s FBI e-mail inbox

* * *

 

Hotch watched the first man who came in as he went to the wall and detached a fire hose.  It looked like they weren’t going to bother with the taser this time.  He braced himself, knowing what was coming, but it didn’t help.  The powerful blast of cold water hit him like a truck.  It knocked him off his feet and into the wall behind him, leaving him stunned and unable to even breathe.

By the time he looked around they had dropped Beth’s body in the cell, and locked the door again.

His mind stopped.

His heart stopped.

He dropped to her side and ever so gently felt for a pulse along her bruised and battered throat.  By some miracle he found one, steady.  And she was breathing, even if the breaths were rasping in her throat.

She was alive.  For a moment the tears threatened to overwhelm him.  She was alive, he hadn’t lost again.

But what had they done to her?

She’d been beaten; both eyes were swelling, as was her jaw.  She had multiple finger bruises around her neck, indicative of possible choking.  Her lips were swollen and a gentle inspection showed that they were cut up on the inside, and she might have more than one loose tooth.  She had bruising coming up on her arms and her wrists, both of which looked badly swollen, and on her torso, and her ankles and her thighs, bruises he didn’t want to confront right now, and she was bleeding and leaking other things besides.

He knew what they had done to her.  Nothing was ever going to be the same.

He was only vaguely aware of what was going on the other cell.  All he could do was pull Beth’s nearly lifeless body into his arms and let the tears come.

* * *

 

Once they dropped Beth off Will and JJ knew they would be coming for one of them.  “Just remember chere.”  Will said as he took one side of the door.  “No matter what happens I’m still going to love you.”

“Nothing’s going to happen Will.”  JJ took the other.  She could handle this, she thought.  These guys are not going to be a problem.  A few good kicks and they’ll back off.  And if we do it right they’ll leave the door open and we can go rescue Henry and Jack too.  Of course they didn’t come in right away; they just stood there, talking amongst themselves.  “What, you’re not coming in for us?”  She said.  “Are you scared of a couple of people in their underwear?”

“JJ!”  Will hissed a warning.

“No!  I want my son Will!  And the only way out is through them.”  Chicken-shit bastards needed to get into it so she could get it done.

When she turned back to face the men holding them she realized how wrong she had been.  They hadn’t been afraid, milling around, they had been waiting for one of their number to come back with a freshly charged taser.  The bolts fired, sending Will flopping with a horse cry from his lips.  “Shit.”  JJ murmured as her back up was gone.  Fine, she thought, I can do this myself.

She did all right with the first one, a roundhouse kick disposed of him at least temporarily.  But then there were two more, and three, and four, until no matter where she threw a punch she was connecting and it still wasn’t enough.  There were hands all over her, grabbing and Twisting, tearing at her hair and her clothing.  Finally it happened, she lost her balance and they caught her, pulling her off her feet, each one getting a leg or an arm until they had her under their control.  She screamed at them, fear mingling with her rage at last, but it was too late.  They had her and there was nothing she could do.

She kicked and fought as hard as she could, spitting curses and threats as they carried her through a maze of spaces until she too found her arms being chained well out to the side.  They dropped her legs once her arms were secure, nearly popping them out of their sockets before she could scramble to her feet.

Her heart started pounding as she watched a stocky balding man with a round, red face came onto the platform.  “FBI!”  He called out to the crowd behind the lights, “State Department, worked with Interpol, and possibly CIA.” 

Russian accent, she thought.  We were right. 

The man opened his arms to the crowd.  “Let us say seven hours.  No limits.  What will you bid for her?”

All of a sudden she thought of Henry, and the time she watched a man auction off a little boy.  And the terror rose up and started to choke her.

* * *

 

Eva Shepherd sat on the windowsill of a Chicago hotel room and watched Derek Morgan sleep.

He’s a good man, she thought, strong, smart.  Been through enough to be tested, to know what he’s capable of, and that’s a lot.  Still gentle though, honorable.  Dammed if he doesn’t remind me of every story I ever heard about my uncle and my dad.  Not something I ever thought I’d find.  Not anywhere in the galaxy.

She looked out the window at the city, and for a moment she could picture the silver spheres falling and opening into Mek battle tanks, bent on wrecking as much destruction as possible, aiming  to turn this perfect little jewel of a planet and everything on it into a resource to be harvested.  Not that it was possible, but she could remember surveying dozens of melted worlds and she could just see it happening here. 

No, she thought, it wouldn’t.  I wouldn’t allow it.  He wouldn’t allow it.  Besides, it can’t happen here.  The Olan don’t even know this planet exists.

So if it can’t happen here why aren’t you out saving another planet?

Because my duty is here, she thought, my duty is to protect the people.  Or in this case look after Sparky while she protects the people.  It’s a cush job, no doubt about that, but it’s still a job.  It still matters.

So how does he figure in to all this?

She knew how, she just hadn’t quite wanted to look at it before now, hadn’t quite wanted to hope for it.  But now that she had seen him with his family around him she had to consider the future.  She could see it, a little house on that tree lined street, close enough to Sarah and Spencer to look after them as needed.  Because Derek was Spencer’s companion, whether he knew it or not.  Helping them manage the future.

Maybe even making their own future.

It was not something she had ever considered for herself.  She had donated willingly, knowing that she might never know the outcome of what she gave up, putting her duty and her crew above all else.  But now her duty was here and she had the space and the option, and was that something she wanted?

With him?

Eva sat on the window ledge and considered the future.  A future that looked more hopeful than she had ever dreamed.

* * *

 

Somewhere south of Chicago, in the middle of nowhere, a truck towing a travel trailer pulled into a small station to fill up.  There was no one around to see the two boys at the back window, hoping desperately to get someone’s attention.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 07  
9 am Saturday**

Spencer awoke to the most delicious scent filling the cabin.

He knew it might surprise people, okay Morgan and JJ and maybe Garcia, to find that he and Sarah had yet to sleep in the same bed.  But to a telepath sleeping with someone, with physical contact facilitating communication, sleeping together was even more intimate than sex.  Dreams, after all, show our deepest longings and fears.  Apparently it was not unusual for even married couples to sleep in separate rooms, and to then carve out space during the day for love.

Well, Morgan was going to find out, and sooner rather than later.  Given that he and Eva were coming up in another four days, and they were sharing a bed when they could, Spencer had taken the couch for the duration.  It was a very comfortable couch, he didn’t mind.  But it did put him right next to the kitchen which made sleeping through breakfast prep impossible.

He heard the familiar sounds, caught the familiar smells, felt the familiar presence of mind, and rolled over to have a look.  During his long stay on Earth Dr. Shepherd, Eva’s uncle and Sarah’s brother’s Companion, had compiled a recipe collection, reformulating their native recipes for Earth ingredients and conditions.  Now every time they came up here they took turns making breakfast for each other, trying new things and savoring old favorites.  This morning she was making a favorite, a wholemeal gingerbread, very spicy,  was thickly sliced and layered in a baking dish with sliced almonds, and then topped with an egg-custard mixture, making something very much like a French toast casserole.  It was served with a tart fruit syrup and sausage patties; the sound of them going into the hot pan was what woke him.  “Good morning.  I didn’t think you would cook.”  He said as he stretched and found his glasses.

“Good morning.”  How she managed to look perfect whenever he woke still eluded him.  The woman did not rumple, ever.  “I told you I was cooking this morning.”

“I didn’t think you’d sleep that well.”

“I slept fine.”

He stretched again and got to his feet, “Even after last night?”

She chuckled in response.  “Yes, I can tell the difference between fiction and reality.”

“Sure?”  She was fine, he could tell, “Because, um, you certainly appeared to be having trouble with it last night.”

Sarah Star did not normally ruffle at horror movies.  Most of the time she didn’t understand them, the ghosts and religious iconography so common to the ones he enjoyed were not part of her mythology, and he avoided slasher movies for being too much like work and so comedies.  But last night he had finally hit upon the combination that seemed to scare her out of her wits.

Horror movies set on space ships.

Last night they had watched the original _Alien_ movie.  She kept cowering back into his arms at the spooky parts.  Muttering things like ‘Protect engineering!’ and ‘Hull integrity!  Hull integrity!’  A couple of times she actually yelped as she jumped.  But now, in the clear light of day, she was fine.  She was even smiling.  “Actually I enjoyed the movie last night.  It was very engrossing.”

“Really?  Because if not we can skip _Event Horizon_ tonight.”

“ _Event Horizon_?”

“Haunted spaceship.”

She looked at him over her mug of herbal tea.  “I may have to see that.  Still want to go hiking today?”

Spencer did a few experimental bends on his knee.  “Sure.  I promised a picnic by a waterfall, didn’t I?”

She smiled at him.  “Excellent.”  She looked into her mug and turned a shade of rosy pink.  “We should pack a blanket.”

A blanket?  But….oh.  _Oh_.  “I’ll throw one in my pack.”

“Good.  So what is _Event Horizon_ about?”

“The first human ship to attempt inter-dimensional travel.  They disappear for years, and then are found floating out by Neptune, abandoned.  A salvage ship goes after them.”

Her eyes widened.  “Inter-dimensional flight?  You know, there’s this theory…”

* * *

 

As it turned out there wasn’t a medical conference in Montreal that week.

Alex Blake woke slowly and blinked at the sun coming through the curtains.  Nothing like a remote, romantic French country inn in the fall to make for a wonderful reunion of a vacation.  Now should she get up and go fetch pastry and coffee from downstairs or wait another hour?

She felt James moving beside her slowly.  “Good morning.”  She murmured to him.

“Good morning.”  He murmured in reply as he rolled over and draped his arm over her body.

Another hour sounded lovely.

* * *

 

There was a large flea market in Baltimore, Maryland that week-end.  And Penelope Garcia was not one to turn away from a very vintage-y flea market for anyone.

9 am found her already in the market for an hour, winding her way through the stalls, trailing a small wagon behind her, already half-full or treasures.  There was nothing like taking the time to remember the sweet happiness of the past, especially with what they had to face every day.  And there was nothing like hunting for treasures of that past to relax.

A stall with jewelry caught her eye and she smiled.  Thankfully she had all the time in the world today.

* * *

 

 “So where are we going today?”  Eva asked as she and Morgan left the Little Goat Diner and headed down the street.

“This afternoon we’ve got that dinner over at Aunt Yvonne’s.”  Morgan reminded her.  “The whole family is going to be there.  If you want to escape now I can always blame the office.”

She just laughed at him.  “Not a chance Derek Morgan.  I love your family; I want to meet all of them.”

He was laughing right along with her as they headed for the garage.  That was okay with him; he loved his family too and wanted her to be a part of it.  He was just happy it was all working out.  “All right, all right, no calling it off.”

“Your aunt brought food over last night, should we bring something?”

“I don’t know.  Hold up, let me call Mom and ask.”  A brief discussion with his Mom led to a longer discussion with Aunt Yvonne, but eventually he ended up with a grocery list.  “Damn.  I was kinda hoping we’d have time to stop by a jewelry store today.”

“Jewelry store?  Why?”

Of course now that she asked he got hung up again.  She was the right woman, smart, fearless, strong in all the right ways.  Even the whole might go home again didn’t hang him up, what closet nerd didn’t want to jump on a spaceship and explore the galaxy someday.  But this was a commitment here, a big one, and was he ready?  Was he?  “I don’t know.”

“What, you just wanted to stop to look?”

Oh hell.  “I was thinking about maybe looking at rings.”

“Rings?”  She frowned in confusion.  “Okay?”

Now he had to laugh at himself.  “Okay, maybe I’m getting ahead of things.  Around here when a guy wants to marry a girl he gives her a ring, something valuable to hold on to so she knows he’ll keep his promise.  Back where you’re from, when a guy and a girl want to get married what do they do?”

“Same idea.  He gives her a…”  She used a word he didn’t know, then mimed putting something around her wrist.    “Why?”

“I don’t know.”  Now he was on the hot seat, great.

“Why?”  She was starting to think it through, starting to grin.

“I don’t know.”

“Derek Morgan?”

“I don’t…let’s go get the groceries, all right, talk about this in the car.”  But she was in his arms and laughing.  Okay, maybe the idea had merit.  “Come on.” 

They walked down the street to the garage, which almost looked closed.  “Is there someone to let us out?”  She asked as they walked past the attendant stand.

“Yeah, he probably just took a bathroom break or something.” 

But he didn’t.  They got to the car, Morgan going to her side to let her in, when he spotted movement in the reflection.  “Derek!”  She cried out a warning.

A moment later 50,000 volts were flowing out of the taser and into the barbs buried in his skin, and he knew nothing else for a long time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 08  
9 am Saturday**

There had been nothing to do but wait. 

“You’re being very calm.”  Hotch said at one point.

“No point in getting upset at what you can’t control.  Just gets in the way of thinking up answers.”  Will said in return.  He was slowly pacing back around his cell, much as Hotch had earlier.  “Learned that in the storm.  What do you think they’re doing to JJ out there?”

Hotch ran his fingers through Beth’s hair.  “I’m trying not to think about that.”

“What do you think they’re doing to the boys?”

“I’m trying not to think about that either.”

“Yeah.  Me too,”

Finally something changed, but it wasn’t what they wanted.  Hotch felt Beth start to stir, then jump awake, and gasp as the pain of the movement reached her.  “Aaron?”  She whispered.

Hotch gently guided her back to him.  “I’m here.  I’m right here.”  He wanted to tell her that they were safe, but they weren’t.  He wouldn’t make that promise.

* * *

 

JJ lay on the floor, trying to catch her breath.  She just wanted this misery to end.

She’d thought she could handle it.  She’d thought she had enough training, enough skills, enough experience.  She’d figured that once she’d been sold she’d be alone somewhere with one man and she could take him out easily enough, then go exploring and find a way out of here.  Simple, right?

Only problem was that she wasn’t bought by one man. 

She was bought by five. 

Now one of them came over and lifted her head by a fist full of hair.  She couldn’t see his face; her eyes were too swollen to see more than a blur anymore.  “Time for you to put on a little show for us.”  He said.  He turned her head so she could see what they were setting up in the center of the room.

It was a humped, saddle shaped object resting on the floor with something entirely obscene sticking out of the top.  It took a moment for her to make sense of it.   When she did she sobbed.  It was a Sybian, a device designed with a powerful, irresistible vibrator that even moved inside the body.   She hurt so much and that would only cause more pain.  But she knew her body couldn’t resist it, it would strip away the last bit of dignity she had even as it damaged her further.  It would take the last thing she could keep for herself.  I can’t, she thought, I can’t.

“Please.”  She whispered.

“If you insist.”  He said.  With that he and another man grabbed her and hauled her over to the device.

Just have to survive, she thought as she was lifted and impaled on the phallic protrusion sticking out of the top, the leavings from all the men easing the way.  Just have to survive.  Henry will need me.  Nothing matters more.

Then they hit the button and she started screaming.

* * *

 

John Blackwolf pulled into Old Rudy’s Outpost to fill up his truck and clean the windshield.  But as he went to pay for his gas he realized that Rudy’s daughter-in-law Theresa was just putting a fresh tray of pan dulce in the case, and the coffee was brewing, and he didn’t have to be anywhere right that second.  A couple of minutes later two other cops he knew from the nearby Jicarilla Apache reservation pulled in, triggering an impromptu interagency meeting.

While they were standing around the picnic table drinking coffee and shooting the breeze a large truck with a travel trailer pulled in for fuel.  Nothing noteworthy about that, there were always people with travel trailers or RV’s or fifth wheels going through the area.  Just having it pull in didn’t even deserve a second look.

But then one of the officers noticed something.  “Hey.”  He said quietly.  “Look at that.”

John looked over and saw something that set alarm bells jangling in the back of his head.  There, and the back window of the trailer, were two young boys, banging on the glass and shouting.  They couldn’t hear what the kids were saying, but it was obvious even from here that they were crying for help. 

“Go.”  He said quietly to the men, nodding them off to flank the two getting out of the truck.  He took one last swig of his coffee and started the distraction. 

“Hey!”  He called as he started walking that way.  “You know it’s not safe to let kids ride in the trailer.”

One of the men from the truck went around and thumped a fist into the window, causing the kids to shrink back in fear.  “They’re fine.”  He had a thick Russian accent.  Now that wasn’t something they heard often around here.

“Not legal either.”  Blackwolf said still walking, faster than his attitude might show.

“Mind your business Cochise.” 

Oh, here we go thought Blackwolf.  “Cochise was one of the greatest chiefs of the Apache Nation.  He fought successfully against both Mexican guerillas and the US army for almost forty years until the US finally asked for a peace treaty.  He was an honorable man to the end, much loved by his people.”  Blackwolf explained patiently.  “Now you need to let those kids out.”

The man spat.  “Fuck you, you’re no cop.”

“Yes I am.  And so are they.”  He nodded to the two uniformed officers who appeared beside them.  “Now let the kids out.”

The older one he’d been talking to stayed calm, but the younger broke and reached for the gun under his jacket.  The two younger officers reacted with well-trained coordination, getting him on the ground and into cuffs.  At the same time John got the older out of the way by pinning him up against the trailer and pressing his knife to his throat. 

“They’re just kids!”  The older man said.  “It’s nothing!  I put them in the truck!” 

“Too late for simple, Ivan. “  John spun the man around and pinned him until he had cuffs on him and then went through his pockets for the keys.  “Hey kids, come on out here.”  Two boys came out of the trailer.  They looked kind of disheveled, as if they had been traveling a while, but not injured at all.  “Are either of these men relatives of yours?’

“Shut up!”  The older man growled.  “We warned you.”

The older boy, maybe eight or ten, glared at the older man.  “They’re kidnapping us.  They said if we said anything they would kill our parents.  But I don’t think they can.”

“His dad’s Superman.”  The younger one agreed.

“Superman, huh?”  John nodded.  “What’s your name?”

“Henry.”  The younger said.

“Henry LaMontagine.”  The older corrected.  “I’m Jack Hotchner.”

The alarm bells in the back of John’s head cranked it into overdrive.  “Hotchner, that’s an unusual name.  “What’s your dad’s name?”

“Aaron Hotchner.”

“Oh yeah.  And where does he work?’

“The FBI.”

“The kid’s lying!”  The older man insisted.  “Telling tales, father in the FBI.  Ha!”

John turned and got in the older man’s face again.  “Kids tell stories sometimes, this is true.  Problem for you is I worked with Aaron Hotchner before.  Get these two back to the station.”  As the officers hauled the two men away John tuned back to the kids.  “I always thought of your Dad more as a Captain America type though.”

 Jack and Henry turned to each other and grinned.  “He might be Captain America.  Will you help us get home.”

“Absolutely.  We’ll go back to the station and call the FBI, get you two on the next plane.  You kids hungry?  I think Theresa just put out the fresh doughnuts.”

“Yeah!”  They said in unison


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 09  
12 noon Saturday**

 “Oh, it’s beautiful!”

Sarah Star felt the grin growing on her face.  There was so much water, this constant thunder of it rushing over the rocks, flowing down the hillside.  Her whole life she had lived with water restrictions, learned to be so careful of every drop when she just wanted to soak in it, to let it pour over her and sop it up like a sponge.  Now to be on this planet, this place still so wild and free, and to have so much of it just there was a miracle to witness.  She wanted to let it pour all over her.  “Can we wade out in it?”

“It’s too much; it would knock you down and hurt you.” Spencer said

She looked over at Spencer as he thought to her.  He was right, of course, but the desire to experience it with her entire being was still there.  “How close can we get?”

He pointed to a shelf about a third of the way up the cliff, hidden behind some shrubbery.  “That patch of moss looks good.”

They climbed up and claimed a large, warm patch for the afternoon, setting out picnic things right there next to the rush water, where they could be barely kissed by the spray.  “The blanket is just going to get wet _.”_   She said

“I don’t think we need it.”  He said

She looked over what they brought.  Even a simple picnic is a feast here, she thought to herself.  Fresh fruits and cheeses and smoked meats, little sweets and pastry and tart-sweet things to drink.  She could never be full of such good, healthy things, and there was still a world’s worth of things to try; a planet full of food and drink and places and seasons and weather.  A planet she could experience with her whole being and never have felt it all.

This was what she wanted to give to her people.  She wanted to collect all of these experiences and find a way to bring it to them, to give them this life.  She and all the other Nobles simply had to make it happen.

But first they had to be born.  They had to be nurtured and trained and taught.  They had to have as many experiences as they could, soak them in like sponges, before they could catch her vision and use that to start a new home for their people.  It would take generations to accomplish, more than her lifetime.  But here was the beginning of the future.

Here with this man was the beginning of the future.

They stretched out on the moss and feasted for a time.  While they did he spoke of his current research, ideas and experiments, thoughts that fascinated and enchanted her.  Here was a man not only intelligent but kind, strong and gentle; capable of such restraint but of such depths of love. 

And that love was something else she wanted to explore with all of her being.

He fell quiet when he realized that she wasn’t really paying attention.  “What are you thinking?”  He asked.

Exploring that love would take forever, she realized, a lifetime at least.  And it would bind her to this planet, to these people, in a way that might keep her from ever returning to live in the stars.  She had a sudden precognitive flash of visiting their new planet someday, as a wizened old woman with her grandchildren around her, unable to stay long for the need to get home.

Home.  Here.  On this jewel of a planet.  With her grandchildren.  With the children of her people, seedlings nurtured on this fertile ground with all of this water.

What was she thinking?  She looked at him, and turned to him and reached up and drew him down to kiss him, long and slow and with all intent.  This is what I am thinking

“Yes.”  He said when they could breathe again. 

“Are you certain?”  She asked.  She had already explained that once done this could not be undone.  This would be forever.

“Yes.”  He replied without hesitation.  “Are you certain?”

In reply she drew him back into that kiss and placed his hand on her breast and opened the connection between them so he could feel all the need and want and desire within her.   _Yes_.

* * *

 

The door to the room opened and a group of men entered.  Hotch recognized the type now, the excessive muscle, the swagger, the signs of a lowered intellectual curiosity that made for a good follower.  Low level mobsters, he should have seen it before.  He gently lowered Beth to the ground and then got up to face them.  He had a preliminary profile, time to put it in action.  “I want to talk to your boss.”  He said, catching the attention of one of them.  “I want to make a deal.”

The one who stopped to pay attention smirked.  Instead of saying anything he directed the other men to get the hose, and point it at Will.  Within moments the younger man was down, stunned just enough for the men to be on him, to drag him from the cell and carrying him away, cursing and struggling for dear life.

Shit.

A few moments later, though, another man came in; this one older, in a better suit, thick in the middle with a ruddy complexion and a fringe of grey hair around his bald head.  “So, you figure us out, huh?” He said with a thick, Russian accent.  “You wish to make a deal?”

Better to ask questions, Hotch thought.  I don’t have enough data to deal, “What do you want?”

“What do we want?  We want the money we lost.”  The boss studied him, and nodded.  “We are business men; you people are in our way.”

“That’s all this is about?  Business?”

“What else is there?”

Maybe there was a hope of dealing here.  “If you let us go we can help you.”  He said.  “We can help you keep the rest of the law off your ass.”

“I don’t believe you.    No, I sell the others to make up for what we lost.  Cops and FBI are worth a lot in this business, many of our customers are interested in working out their anger, taking some revenge.  Then we sell you to make the point to the FBI and that writer friend of yours.  You are not untouchable.”

“It doesn’t work that way and you know it.  They won’t stop looking for us.  And they won’t stop hunting you.”

“Maybe fifty years ago.  The world is different now.  Too much politics, little desire for risk”

Hotch lost it a little there.  Maybe the hopelessness or the worry over Jack or the frustration of this man’s hubris did it, but it managed to come out somehow.  “Things haven’t changed that much.  When they find you they’ll kill you before you even get to a cell.”

The boss smiled politely.  “We shall see.”  He turned and walked out.

Hotch instantly realized his mistake.  He should have been contrite, flattered him perhaps. Not confrontational like that.  Some profiler, he thought.  I might have just gotten us all killed.

* * *

 

Not killed.  Unfortunately.

“Get the hell off of me!”  Will yelled

A group of men were dragging him toward a room in the complex, one with a large, metal table.  Within moments they had him on his back, tied down on the table.

The boss followed, calmly.  Will couldn’t see what was going on, all he could see was the bright light shining above him.  But then the boss leaned over, right into his face.  “You will do.”  He said.  “You are pretty enough.”  He looked over at his men.  “Get it done, quick but neat and thorough.”

One of the men grabbed Will tightly by the jaw.  It wasn’t until he saw what one of the others had in his hand that he started screaming.

* * *

 

It wasn’t long before two men came into the cell room, half carrying a limp body between them.  Hotch could only watch in frustration as they dropped JJ’s battered, bloody body in the empty cell she had shared with her husband.  “JJ!”  He said.  “Move.  Please move.  Say something.  Do something, please!”

A moment later he had his response.  She managed to flap her hand at him, reassuring him that she was still alive, still conscious.  Then she slowly, painfully curled into a ball there on the floor.  “Will?”  She said.

“They took him.”  Hotch said.  “I’m sorry.”

JJ didn’t say anything.  She just curled in a ball and wept.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My next couple of posts might be more than a day apart. We had to take one of our dearly loved cats on his last vet trip yesterday so I haven't been writing like I used to.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10  
2pm Saturday**

They found a use for the blanket after all

Spencer had never imagined it would be like this.  Before this he had always envisioned the connection between himself and Sarah in one of two ways.  Most of the time it was a pipe, in the way that an internet connection can be seen as a pipe, information flowed like water between the two of them in a narrow, regulated stream that could be controlled, monitored, even blocked.  He even used the mental imagery of a smartphone to control the flow of information, “calling” her to open the connection when he wanted to talk, setting it to mute when he wanted it to flow in from her but not back out, and so on.  He sensed he could still do that with actual speech, but now there was so much more. 

Now he could best picture a lake, clear and wide and deep, straddling the landscape between their minds, a lake full of emotion and power and the energy given off by the planet itself, warm and comforting, into which he could fall, he could sink and float and bob there, comforted and energized by the depth of what they shared now.   _I like that imagery._   She said directly to his mind.

_I wonder what I can do with it._

_What do you mean?_   In reply he rolled and focused on the waterfall, watching the way the water poured over the rocks, studying it closely.   _Ah, be careful love_ , she thought to him,  _water is heavy and difficult to work with._

 _Not if you understand fluid dynamics._   He focused on the water, on the way it tumbled and moved.  Suddenly, for no apparent reason, it looked like a giant hand came down and blocked one section of the waterfall.  The water pooled behind it and then poured off to one side like it was going around an invisible dam.

A moment later the waterfall burst forth as the invisible barrier disappeared and Spencer fell back to the moss, gasping.   _I did that_ , he thought,  _I really did that just with my mind_!  The world dipped and twisted around him as he marveled at the thought.

 _Yes, you did._   Sarah rolled into him, pressing her warm, soft body against his as she held the bottle of lemonade to his lips.  _I didn’t think you were capable.  You amaze me you know.  Here, you’ll need fuel for that._

He did, he realized, he was suddenly famished.  He sipped at the sweet tart liquid greedily, wrapping an arm around her to keep her close while he drank.   _What else will I need?_   He asked.

 _To keep your strength up._   With that thought she slid on top of him.

* * *

 

**4 pm Saturday**

Rossi stormed into the office at nearly a dead run.  “Where are we?”  He asked, not bothering to be polite.

“I just got here thirty seconds ago.”  Blake said.  “The first flight out was at one, then I got stuck in Customs, of all things.”

Crap.  “Garcia?”

“Okay, I’ve been here since noon, here’s what we have.”  She pulled things up on the board as she talked.  “Jack and Henry are being escorted back by agents from the Albuquerque field office.  Jessica and Sandy are going to meet them at the airport and then they’re coming here to be interviewed.  They had them checked out at the ER; they’re not hurt in any way, thank god.  We know Hotch and Jack boarded their flight to New York on time, and took a cab over to Beth’s apartment.  Two agents with the New York office went in with NYPD and found a mess; they said it looked like there had been some kind of a struggle.”

“Did they find Hotch’s luggage there?”  Rossi asked.

“Yes they did.  When they went to check the security they found that the cameras had been disabled.”

“Planned attack,” Blake said.  “What about Will and JJ, they’re not here.”

“They never got on their flight to Florida.  We send a couple of agents over with DC Metro, they found  Will’s car parked in the usual place, the back door open, the luggage piled up to go, no sign of a struggle at all.”

“How does that happen?”

“Henry.”  Rossi said, putting his fingers together in the shape of a gun and pointing to about the level of a small head, “How about Morgan and Reid?”

“Morgan made it to Chicago in one piece; they checked into the hotel, went to see his Mom last night.  His credit card showed that they had breakfast at a diner this morning, and then his phone records show that he talked to his Mother and his Aunt not long after.  She said they were going to the store for the family dinner tonight.  The local agents found his car in a nearby garage and his phone kicked under it.  They spoke to his family who said that they haven’t noticed anything weird except his sister Desiree said that he noticed someone watching the house last night.  And we haven’t been able to get a hold of Reid.”

They waited a moment.  “That’s it?”  Rossi asked.  “You haven’t been able to get a hold of Reid?  Has anyone been looking?”

“I’ve been trying!”  Garcia wailed.  “He took Sarah up to Gideon’s old cabin.  It’s completely off the grid, self contained power, water, the works.  His only connection is a satellite phone and that’s used to call out only, he never gave anyone the number.  He even bought it through an anonymous service; I can’t find any sale records anywhere.  The only people who know where it is are Morgan and Hotch and no help there.  All I know is that it’s just outside Shenandoah National Park somewhere.”

“Hopefully if we can’t find them then they can’t find them either.”  Blake shook her head.  “Wait, Sarah is with Reid.  Is Eva with Morgan?”

“Yeah.”

“And she’s missing too?”

“Yeah.”

Blake went pale.  “Oh, that’s not good.”

“What?”  Rossi asked

“Protocol 3372.  It’s…I have to notify General Davis.”

“Stall.  We don’t need the military underfoot.  Let me see if I can get some help with that.”  Rossi headed up to his office and sat, waking up his computer.  He looked at the screen, intended to retrieve a file, but…  “What is this?”  He clicked, and the files started downloading.

A moment later he clicked them off.  “Garcia?”  He called out.

“Yeah.”

“I’ve received four e-mails since we all left, with video attachments.  Try to track them, but don’t watch the videos.”

“Sure.  Okay.  Why not?”

He took a deep breath.  “It’s Beth and JJ.”

For a moment everything just stopped.  “Oh my god,” Garcia said.

“Was there a message with them?”  Blake asked.

Rossi nodded and read it to them.  “Stay out of our business.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11  
5pm Saturday**

“Uncle Dave!  Uncle Dave!”

Henry and Jack hit the BAU doors at a dead run.  They hit escape velocity somewhere around the bull pen and launched themselves into Rossi’s arms.  “Where’s my Dad?”  Jack demanded.

Rossi hugged them like he was drowning and they were saving him.  If nothing else the boys were safe.  If you can hear me out there wherever you are Aaron, Jack is safe.  JJ, Will, Henry is safe.  “I don’t know.”  He had to admit.  “I don’t know where your Mom and Dad are either.”  He admitted to Henry.  “But we’re doing everything we can to find them.”

“What about Spencer?”  Henry asked.

“We’re doing everything we can to find him too.  That doesn’t mean he’s in trouble, he’s staying at a friend’s cabin up in the mountains, we just don’t know where he is.”

“Maybe his Mommy knows.”

Rossi was about to answer that no, Spencer’s Mommy probably didn’t, when he stopped.  Of course!  “Henry, that’s a brilliant idea.”

“You think Diana would know?”  Blake asked.

“Not exactly.  You boys go wait in the conference room; I’ll be there in just a little bit.”  He put the boys down and practically ran to Garcia’s lair.  “Garcia, can you get Bennington Sanitarium on the phone?  There’s no way Reid wouldn’t leave a number where they could contact him in case of emergency.”

“I should have thought of that!”  Garcia immediately turned and started typing.

* * *

 

Spencer felt like he was practically floating back to the cabin.  He was only about three-quarters in this world now; the remainder was lost in a world of sensation, of the warmth of the sun and the caress of the breeze and the scents and sounds of the world around him.  Whatever natural powers he possessed had taken a serious boost earlier, there beside the waterfall.  _Is it always like this?_   He thought

 _Yes_ , Sarah thought back, _you’ll have to learn to block it out and focus or else when you’re in an ugly place it will depress you and your energy will drop.  When you’re stuck inside your head then you need lots of intellectual stimulation, lots of things for your library, to keep from going stir crazy._   She smiled a little.  _I devoured books when we were with the fleet._

 _That’s not a problem._ He remembered her library, the vast stores of information she kept in her mind, creating an internal refuge.  He had one as well, but it needed nurturing.   He might have to subject himself to book apps on his tablet, they were slow but he could bring more with him that way.  _How did you bear it for all those years?_

 _I was doing my duty._   She thought back.  _That mattered more than my comfort._

_Noblesse oblige.  Privilege entails to responsibility.  Mat talked about that a lot, I remember._

_Yes.  As Gran used to say, it’s not how strong or how smart you are that makes you special, it’s your willingness to work with your gifts to do what needs to be done._   She put her arm around him.  _I’m just grateful that duty comes with rewards._

He smiled as he pressed a kiss to her hair.  He knew that one word to General Davis would have him quietly ensconced in some pleasant work environment, spending the rest of his life using his gifts for research and development, with no more exposure to the twisted minds of Unsubs or the broken hearts of their victims.  But he firmly believed it was his duty to help others, to save lives, to protect and to serve, and so he would keep going out on cases, keep helping where he could with whatever ability he could bring to bear on the problem, no matter how difficult it became.  The reward was being able to sleep knowing he had helped, knowing he made a difference.  But it was also the friends and family he had at the BAU.  The reward, he thought, is the people.  They make it worthwhile.

Speaking of the people, they came around the corner and spotted an SUV parked in front of the cabin.  _They’re early;_ Sarah thought as they headed down the hill, _I hope everything is all right_.  He felt her concentrate as she reached out to Eva, and then this sudden flare of shock.  “Spencer!”

At that moment he felt the barbs of the taser bite into his skin.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12  
7 pm Saturday**

Hotch got to his feet as the men came back, dragging Will’s battered body between them.  JJ had come around some time ago, she wasn’t able to get up, but she could at least move to Will’s side once they dropped him in the cell.

The leader had followed them in this time.  Now he turned to Hotch.  “Your friends are late.”  He said.  “So you choose.  Chose which of the women goes next.”

Hotch knew what was happening to the people he cared about.  He’d been where they were thanks to his father and Foyet.   He had no illusions as to what would happen to him outside of this room.  I’m not Superman, he thought, it would take a lot less than Kryptonite.  “Neither.”  Hotch said.  “Take me.”

The leader looked at him a long moment, then smiled and started to chuckle.  He turned to his men and gave an order.  The next thing Hotch knew 50,000 volts were flooding his body, leaving him flopping on the floor.  No, he thought.  No, that’s not how this is supposed to go.  I’m the one who’s supposed to be strong.

As he had expected when he could move again Beth was gone.  “They don’t want you.  Yet.”  The leader said.  Then he turned and walked away.

* * *

 

There was a lot about this that Dave Rossi did not yet understand.  But top on the list was how the arm got into the tree.

They were too late, as near as they could tell, which surprised exactly no one.  From what they could tell of the cabin, Spencer and Sarah had woken up that morning, had breakfast, and had gone for a hike and picnic.  They had found packs tossed aside in front of the cabin.  The best guess was that they had been ambushed on the way back.

Thankfully none of the bodies were Reid’s or Sarah’s.  “What can you tell me?”  Rossi asked the ME who was there to collect the remains. 

“Not nearly enough.”  The ME said.  “Let’s start with the easy one.  Initial estimate on Victim one is that he died of strangulation.  Petechial hemorrhage is the big indicator there.  But if that hadn’t done it the broken neck would have.”  He showed how the victim’s head rolled around loosely on his neck.

“What do you think did that?”  Rossi asked.

“If we were anywhere but the middle of nowhere I would say an industrial accident of some kind.”

“Not a person?”

“A linebacker high as a kite, maybe; you’re talking a lot of force to begin with and this guy is not small.  Any chance your agent was fighting back?”

“Not him, not with that kind of damage.”

“I didn’t think so.  I have no clue.  Okay, victim two.  From what I can tell he bled out after someone or something ripped his arm off and threw it up in that tree.”

“You don’t think an animal carried it off?”

“No tooth marks that I can see.  And it was lodged too high up for any animal able to carry it to climb.”

“What could do that?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.  T-rex maybe?”

That was not the kind of answer Rossi wanted to hear.  “Do we have a victim three?  Have you determined that?”

“Yeah, we have.  Near as I can tell victim three might have died when someone set off an explosive device inside him, except there’s no sign of an explosion.  Someone just popped him like a bubble.”

“Sure it wasn’t an explosive?”

“No.  I’ll let you know when we sponge up enough to run some tests.  But I already know what I’m going to have, and that’s not a lot.”

As the ME headed off to sponge up more samples Rossi walked over to Blake.  “Nothing on this earth could have caused this.  Protocol 3372?”

Blake shook her head.  “Maybe,” she said.  “But if so, it was strictly self defense.  They found a taser gun in the hand up there.  It had been fired.  And two autoject pens as well, they’re taking those back to the FBI lab to see what was in them.”

“All right.  So they’re tasing them to subdue them and drugging them for transport.  Slick.  Only two, who else was up here other than Reid and Sarah?”

“No one.”

“Are you sure?  Because this looks like something only one of our ‘visitors’ could have done.  They must have had a guest.” 

“You know I can’t say anything Dave.”

Rossi just sighed.  “All right, call Davis.  Tell him we have a problem.”

* * *

 

Once they were left alone JJ crawled over to Will’s body.  “Will.”  She said as she wrapped her arms around him, trying to give him warmth and comfort.  He was breathing at least, raspy breaths that sounded like the hurt.  I thought I was such a bad ass, she thought.   I thought I could protect you and Henry from my work if I just learned to fight hard enough.  I should have known. 

She rested her head on his chest and wept. 

* * *

 

**9pm Saturday**

Hotch watched in despair as two more men came in, dragging an obviously tased Derek Morgan between them.  Behind him four men came with his girlfriend, Eva Shepherd.  Hotch had to admit, he liked Eva.  Well placed in the State Department, she was competent and intelligent and friendly, enjoyable company at family get-togethers.  But now she was standing there with her hands up, with three weapons pointed at her and cold anger on her face.  They stopped in front of the cell directly across from him.  He could see the wounds from taser probes on her back, and the dried trails of blood.

The two men dragging Morgan tossed him into the cell.  Then they looked at her.   “Get into cell.”  The one said at last.

“No.”   She said.

In reply one of the ones behind her gave her a firm push which sent her stumbling into the cell.  Before she could catch her feet they slammed it closed behind her.  She stood there rattling off what could only be curses in a language he didn’t recognize for a good five minutes.  “What language is that?”  Hotch asked.

“Doesn’t matter,” she said.  “What is going on?  We’ve been stuck in the trunk of a car for I don’t know how long.”

“From what we can tell the head of a human trafficking ring we helped break a few years ago is taking his revenge on the team.”  Hotch sighed.  “I’m sorry you’ve been caught up in all of this.  I’ll do whatever I can to help when we’re free of this.”

“I’ve been in worse.”  Eva said.  “Are Sarah and Spencer here?”

“Not that I’ve seen.  But it wouldn’t surprise me if they found them.  The directions to the cabin were on my tablet.”

“Well, good.  Once they get here we can leave.”

Just then the leader came in, carrying a taser, trailing a group of his men and yelling loudly in Russian.  Eva groaned and held her arms straight out to the side when she saw what he was holding.  He stormed over to Eva and Morgan’s cell, lectured his men for a moment, pointed the taser at Eva, and fired.

As Hotch watched, the energy from the taser arched around her body, encasing her in a nimbus of false lightning.  It crackled its way out to her fingertips and then presumably to the ground.  As soon as it was gone she pulled the barbs out of her skin and free of the gun and wagged them at the leader.  “Stop that!”  She said.  “These things hurt!”

The men stared at her in dumb shock for a long moment, then retreated quietly the way they came.  They weren’t the only ones staring.  “How did you do that?”  Morgan asked her.

“Nanetic armor,” she said, “Protects against pulse weapons.  Only turns on when hit so it survived the trip.  Remind me to ask Spencer if you’re compatible and I’ll get you some.”

“You didn’t tell me you could do that.”

“You didn’t tell me you people had pulse weapons.”

Hotch had already had an impossible day.  This was not helping.  He wasn’t exactly sure what he was seeing, but he could make an educated guess.  “You don’t work for State.”  He said to Eva, “Protocol 3372?  Morgan?”

Morgan sighed.  “You know I can’t answer that.”

Hotch groaned.  It was that kind of a day.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13  
9 pm Saturday**

General Davis stood in the conference room and looked at the pictures of the crime scene.  “Is this even possible?”  He asked.

Blake just shook her head.  “Maybe.  I don’t know.  We have a record of Ms. Shepherd showing the first contact team a video of the Ambassador destroying an enemy battle cruiser, but we don’t have a record of the actual video.  During the time she’s been here she hasn’t shown any tendency toward violence at all.  We don’t know for certain but we don’t have any other explanation.    But even if she didn’t have diplomatic immunity this would be a clear case of self defense.”

“Understood.  What are the chances of their recovery before the next courier?”

“When is the next courier due?”

“Four days.”

Oh shit.  “I honestly don’t know.”  Blake said.  “The only witnesses we have are seven and ten and they’re traumatized.  The two suspects we have aren’t talking.”

“They’d better.”  The General said.  “If she did this I do not want her big brother coming back to this planet pissed.”

* * *

 

Hotch was about to say that pulling clearance wasn’t good enough, not here, not now, but before he could the door opened and the men came back, dragging Spencer and Sarah’s limp bodies between them.

Eva just smiled as they went past.  “How long do you think they’ll be out?”  She asked Morgan.

“Another hour, maybe two.”  He said.

“We can do that.”

Her confidence wasn’t bravado, Hotch realized.  Eva honestly believed that a petite, delicate, seemingly fragile woman in lacy pink lingerie would somehow be able to get them out of there. 

“Morgan.”  JJ said quietly.

Morgan was in the middle of pacing his cell when he looked over and saw her and Will.  “JJ.  Jesus.”   He crouched down to be at her level.  “Oh JJ, sweetheart, I am so sorry.”

“Just don’t look.”  She said as she curled into an even tighter ball.

“How is Will doing?”  Hotch asked her.

“I can’t tell if he’s asleep or in shock.”  JJ said.  “I think it’s pretty bad.”  She looked over at Morgan.  “Look, I get it.  I know you’re not supposed to talk about it.  But they have Henry and Jack and I don’t know how we’re going to get out of here to find them.”  She was trying not to cry but it was so hard.

“Protocol 3372?”  Hotch asked again.

Eva looked at Morgan and shrugged.  “He’s not my general.”  She said.  “And there are kids in trouble.  Yeah.”  She said to Hotch.  “I’m not from around here.”  She pointed up.  Straight up, Hotch realized, up toward the stars.  “Neither is my girl over there.”

“And you can’t get us out?”

“Unfortunately no.”

“You just stopped a taser.”

She shrugged.  “That’s just body armor.  I forgot I had it on.  Sarah can get us out, as soon as she wakes up.  She’s getting a habit of sleeping through a crisis.”

“How?”  Hotch asked.

“Remember that weaponised seed stock Blake was talking about?”  Morgan said.  He nodded pointedly at Sarah.

For a moment Hotch didn’t understand.  But then it clicked and things started to clear.  “Not agriculture.  Gametes.  Egg and sperm samples.  Seed stock for a population.”

“Women where we’re from don’t have an easy time carrying to term even under the best conditions.”  Eva said.  “Over the past generation we lost our planet, our people have been forced into refugee camps and our women have had to go to war, breaking a long held taboo that was there for a reason.  Our prenatal mortality rate got up to eighty percent.  You don’t have it that high anywhere on this planet.  We were in danger of going  _extinct_.  So one of our supposed allies, the Eridians, offered to let us store what we needed to on their planet.  We created a genetic bank so that we could get sturdier volunteers from other planets to help us keep our numbers up, and so that when the war was over and we could settle a new planet we’d have the genetic diversity to rebuild our population.”

“But Blake said there was a problem.”

“Yeah.  The Eridians weren’t as trustworthy as we thought.  Problem was nearly all the people who knew that were long gone when they came to us.  Only one left from our original government was my uncle and he was here, trapped.   He knew we couldn’t trust them so when he and King Ehawk and your Ambassador went back they started looking into the program.  Turns out the Eridans had been creating embryos from our stocks, trying to find our Noble lines.  But they had to destroy them to test them.”  Her voice grew very quiet.  “Our children are all we have left.”

“I understand.  So you’re moving the stocks here?”

“You people feel the same way about children that we do.  And the Eridans don’t even know this planet  _exists_.  They’re safer here.  And we’ll give you whatever you want in exchange for looking after them for us.”

“You shouldn’t have to.”  Hotch said.  “Weaponisation.  I assume that has something to do with the Noble lines?”

“About a thousand years ago King Gerand the Fourth realized that our species was evolving.  Some of our people were becoming vastly more intelligent, and were developing special abilities.  He decided to encourage that evolution, so he declared anyone showing those traits to be a member of the nobility, and in exchange for the land and money that went with the titles they had to agree to only marry or allow their children to marry within the Noble class.”  Eva smiled.  “I know that kind of social engineering is taboo on your planet, but it worked on ours.  At least until the Olan attacked, the Nobles who survived the initial attack were the first to go to the gallows.”

“And Sarah’s a noble?” Hotch asked.

“Of the royal line.  Her brother left her here to protect the children.  I’m her Companion, but that’s even more complicated.”

“I thought you said the nobility can only marry other nobles?”  JJ asked.

“That’s right.”

“So why is she dating Spence?”

“Because your people have been evolving too.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14  
10pm Saturday**

Like Hotch and Will Spencer opened his eyes, blinked at the bright light overhead, and quickly closed them.  Unlike them he did not then jump up screaming.  Instead he focused inward, on that deep, vast space they now shared, and there he found Sarah.  In his mind’s eye she was sitting with a book in her lap, looking through it at a quick place.  _What is it?_   He asked

 _I need to find the structure of this drug to make a reagent,_ she said, indicating a model of an atom dancing in the air in front of her.  _I’ve never experienced it before._

Spencer looked it over, recognizing a common sedative.  _What are you trying to do to it?_

_I’m trying to create an enzyme that will neutralize it, and allow the product of the reaction to be excreted without harm._

_What are you using for the base of the reagent?_   He became dimly aware of some kind of yelling nearby, but he blocked it out.  This was vastly more important.

_Saliva is the easiest to share._

It wasn’t hard.  Spencer quickly pictured the sort of thing needed to induce the reaction.  _Okay, so now I spike my own saliva with it?_

 _Yes._   She reached over and took his hand.  _And then you share it with me, that’s the quickest way.  Like this._

* * *

 

From what Hotch could tell Spencer did not take any time in shaking off the effects of the drug.  One moment he was lying there utterly still, the next he rolled over and kissed Sarah…no, the Ambassador, that was correct…thoroughly and well.   Not what he expected.  “Reid.”  Hotch said quietly.  Is the Ambassador awake?”

“She will be in about one minute when the reaction completes.”  Spencer replied as he got to his feet.  “Where are we?  What’s going on?  Where are my clothes?” 

“We worked a case involving a human trafficking ring a few years back with Andi Swan...”

“I remember.  And this is their idea of revenge?”

“Or getting their money back.”

“Has anyone been hurt?”

“Beth, JJ and Will.  I think we can assume you and the Ambassador and Morgan and Eva are on their list but I believe Eva scared them off.  They’ve been using tasers to control us but she’s resistant somehow.”  He took a deep breath.  “They just took JJ and Will out again.  Said someone was here looking for him.”

For a moment Spencer looked almost ill with concern, then he frowned like he was concentrating hard, even for him.  As Hotch watched a spot of blood fell from his nose to his white shirt front.  “They’re alive.”  He said quietly.

Just then Sarah blinked and stretched and got to her feet.   “That worked well.”  She said.  “You’re a better chemist than I am.  What’s going on?”

“Tell you later Sparky.”  Eva said.  “First things first, kill the cameras and get us out of these pens.”

Hotch looked up at the security cameras, well out of reach in the corners of the room, just in time to see the red lights blink out.  But there was no time to get out of the pens.  The door to the room rumbled open and three men came in, one carrying a military rifle.  He pointed it at Morgan.  “You come with us and behave or he dies.”  One of the others said to Eva as he opened their cell.

“I have a better idea.”  Eva said as she held her ground.  “How about you give him that weapon, give us your clothes and we lock you in here.”

Of course that started them laughing, but that laughter only lasted a moment.  Because in the next moment an unseen force yanked the weapon from the third man’s hands, causing him to cry out in shock.  As they watched it hung in the air, and then floated over to where Morgan could take it.

Eva stepped out of the cell to the space between them, allowing Morgan to follow.   “Now you clothes.”  She said.  “Pants and shirts at least.”

The men were still gaping at the weapon.  “Fuck you.” One of them said quietly.  A moment later he cried out as that unseen force pulled his arms straight up, ripped his shirt over his head, undid his belt and shoved his pants to the ground, and then shoved him into the cell, leaving his clothing behind.  Eva looked at the next one expectantly as he gapped back, only to have that unseen force repeat the performance.  The third one stripped on his own and joined his mates in the cell, which closed behind them.  The lock clicked and then there was the distinct smell of soldering as it welded itself shut.

The door to Hotch’s cell swung open and he stepped out at the same time as Sarah and Spencer, to find both lightly laughing.  “You did that?”  He asked Sarah.

“Yeah.”  She said.  “I thought we could use the clothes.”  She accepted one of the shirts.

Hotch tossed Spencer one pair of pants, tossed another to Morgan.  “Save those for Will.”  He said of the third, his boxers covering enough. Then he picked up a shirt and turned back to collect Beth.  He carefully covered his love and lifted her into his arms.  Now we get out of here, he thought.  “Jack and Henry.”  He said.  “We need to find them.”

Spencer screwed up his face like he was concentrating once again.  “Not here.”  He said as another drop of blood fell to his shirt. 

As Hotch watched Sarah ripped a bit off the bottom of the shirt she had on and used it to blot up the blood for him.  He got the distinct impression that they were communicating somehow.  And somehow Reid was different.  “We need to find who knows where they’ve gone.”  He said.  “And find Will and JJ and get them out of here.”

“We need to find a cell phone and call in the cavalry.”  Morgan said.  He walked over to the door and looked it over.  “How do we open this thing?” 

“What do you usually do if you don’t know if something is behind a door?”  Sarah asked as she and Eva stepped to the side for cover.

“That.”  Morgan replied as he and the rest did the same.  “On three.  One…two…”  On three the door obediently rolled open and he led the way out.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15  
11pm Saturday**

Morgan took point, clearing the way before them, and Spencer took the rear just in case.  But after the first turn it became clear that they were not just going to walk out the nearest door.  “This place is a maze.”  He muttered.  “Any good ideas on how to get out of here?”

“Can you pick up on the outside?”  Eva asked Sarah.

The other woman’s eyes went blank.  “No.  We must be underground.  But there are a lot of people down here.”

Eva looked over at Spencer next.  “Can you pick up on your friends at all?”

Spencer closed his eyes and concentrated.  “That way.”  He pointed roughly north east of their current position, relative to the corridor they were in as two more drops of blood fell to his shirt.  “Wait  How did you know?”

Eva gave him one of those looks.  “A couple of nights alone in that cabin?  I am not that dim.”

“You’re going to explain that to me later, right?”  Morgan asked.

“To all of us.”  Hotch said.

“When we’re out of this mess.”  Eva said.  “How do we want to do this?  Go get your friends, get out and get help, or split up?”

“We don’t have the manpower to split up.”  Hotch said.  Even though he was useless because he needed to carry Beth now he didn’t think they would be any safer in two groups.  For once he didn’t know what to do.  “Since we don’t know how to get out of here let’s go get Will and JJ.  It might be on the way out.”

“All right.”  Eva agreed.  She looked over at the others.  “Spencer, you get to navigate.  Sparky, make sure we don’t have company.”

They set out but only got around the two corners before they knew this wasn’t going to work.  “Leave me.”  Beth murmured.

“No.”  Hotch said.  He didn’t know why she couldn’t walk, and he wasn’t certain he wanted to know. “We’ll find a place to hide.”

The halls were lined with pallets of drums and other refuse which they kept using for cover but none of it seemed capable of hiding anyone for any length of time.  Morgan peered around the corner carefully.  “Hold up.”  He ducked around and came back a moment later.  “There’s a janitor’s closet just around the corner.”

They went for it.  It was small and smelled bad, but there were no windows in the door and the mop sink still worked.  And there was something else.  “What are the chances that that phone works?”  Morgan asked as he picked it up and set it to speaker.  There was no sound.  “Not good.”

“Hang on.”  Sarah rested her fingers on it and concentrated.  A moment later Spencer’s head dropped to her shoulder as two more drops of blood fell to his shirt.  The phone started to click.  A moment later they all heard the blessed dial tone. 

Seconds after that they all heard the most blessed voice in the universe.  “FBI, Behavioral Analysis Unit.”  Garcia said.  “How did you get this number?”

“Baby girl I will never forget this number.”  Morgan replied.  “I don’t know where we are, tell me you can trace this line and send in the cavalry.”

“Oh!  You know I will!  If there is any way…you’re in Philadelphia!  You’re in a warehouse in Philadelphia!  We are sending everyone there right now to this place right here!”

“Garcia.”  Hotch said.  “Jack and Henry…”

“Are here!”  She interrupted him.  “They’re here!  They’re sleeping in your office and Rossi’s office with Sandy and Jessica.  They’re fine; they’re not hurt at all!”  Hotch let out a deep breath as that weight came off.   “Are you guys all right?”

“We’re gonna need ambulances Momma.”  Morgan said.  “But no one’s dead.”

“Okay, not dead is a good place to start.”

“We need to get to Will and JJ.”  Spencer said urgently.

We’ll go get them and bring them back here.”  Eva said.

“That door doesn’t lock.”  Morgan said.

“We can block it.”  Sarah told him.

“I’ll stay on the line with Garcia.  You four go.  And be careful.”  Hotch said, settling the matter.

A few moments later he heard something heavy being moved in front of the door.  “Are you still there Garcia?”  He asked.

“No, she patched me through.”  Dave Rossi replied.  “Are you someplace safe?”

“For now.”  Hotch said.  “How did all this happen?”

“Maybe we’re not as good as we think we are.”

* * *

 

When Sarah first walked in the room JJ figured she had finally lost her mind.

She’d been trying to hang on to her sanity for the past hour or so.  They’d been bought by someone Will seemed to know, both from the look on Will’s face and the New Orleans’s accent.  The buyer in question had three flunkies with him who had been taking turns while the monster spoke quietly into Will’s ear as they watched.  The plan was that once the flunkies were exhausted the brazier in the corner would come into use, something that pushed her right to the edge of madness.  They had to hang on for Henry’s sake, but after tonight there would be little other reason for doing so.

This is what we get for being so overconfident, she thought as she heard the door open.   We should have helped finish this case when we had the chance.   If I would have been paying attention…

The buyer was chuckling.  “What’s this?”  He asked.  “Lagniappe?”

JJ opened swollen eyes to see who had come in the door.  The last person she expected was Spencer’s Sarah.    “You need to stop.”  Sarah said.

The men laughed.  “And you’re here to stop us?”  The buyer asked.

JJ groaned.  Even Reid coming to their rescue would be better than Sarah.  JJ didn’t know what this whole alien nobility thing was about but she knew Sarah Star.  Over the past year that Spencer had been dating her she’d seen Sarah seemingly eat every rich thing she could get her hands on.  Her only exercise had been riding a bicycle around Georgetown.  She knew that the girl hadn’t taken one day of self-defense training, although her friend Eva routinely joined JJ and Morgan at the gym.  In fact more than once Sarah had come along to watch…over pastry and hot cocoa.  Now she was standing there in a man’s overlarge shirt, looking like she was there to do battle.

“Yes.”  Sarah replied.

The man laughed again, and one of them put a hand on her shoulder.

An unseen force pulled that arm being his back so violently that JJ could hear it break at the socket.  He went down in a heap, screaming.

“What the fuck, bitch?”  One of the other men went grabbed her shoulder only to have that unseen force grab his arm and fold it in half the wrong way.  He doubled over screaming only to be whirled off his feet and tossed into the wall hard enough to knock him unconscious. 

A third one waded in and threw a punch that seemed to hit an invisible concrete wall.  His hand shattered, but before he had time for that gasp to turn into a scream he went flying just as if he had been hit with a roundhouse kick.

Finally, in a panic, the buyer pulled a gun and pointed it at Sarah.  “What the hell are you?!”

The gun was ripped out of his hand and tossed back at the door.  “Someone who is having a very bad day.”  Sarah said.  As JJ watched that unseen force grabbed the buyer by the throat and lifted him off the floor, leaving him gagging and gasping for air.  “It’s not ethical to actually kill a humanoid, except in cases of self defense.”  She said as she walked slowly up to him.  “It’s a waste of breeding stock if nothing else.  But your mind is like a sewer.  It would not be safe to leave it in your possession.”

As JJ watched the buyer grunted, jerked, and bloody grayish goo started leaking out of his ears.  After a few moments the light went out of his eyes.  When Sarah let go he dropped to the floor in a heap, just like a sack of vegetation.

“All clear.”  Sarah said.

At that Spencer and Morgan came into the room.  “Eva is covering our retreat.”  Spencer said as he dropped at her side and Morgan scooped up the buyer’s gun.  “Can you walk?”

“I think so.”  JJ said as she moved to get up.  Spencer helped her get into a shirt, at least there was that much, and then supported her as she made it up at least that far.  She looked over and saw that Morgan was helping Will into a pair of pants.  Sarah was standing there, smiling at them.  “How?”

“I’ve been studying your physiology.”  Sarah said.  “It’s remarkably similar to our own.”

“The actually physics involved would require about eight hours of lecture.”  Spencer said.

 “I never saw a fight like that.”  JJ said?

“Fight?”  Sarah looked around the room and shrugged.  “I’m a Noble and a pilot.  I never bothered with hand-to-hand; I’m not good at it.  Why waste time with something that doesn’t work with my strengths?”

“I should probably remember that.”

“Hey.”  JJ looked over and saw that Morgan had Will up and moving.  “Ready?”  He asked.

They were.  They went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, this is not turning out to be one of my best. I have another brewing that's already better but I will finish this first. Stay tuned.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16  
11:30 Saturday**

It was a very simple plan.  Head back to the closet and hide in there until the FBI came to clear the place out.  It would be a little tight but so long as they were quiet no one would notice they were in there.  Simple, right?

They did not have that kind of luck.  “Hey!”  Someone yelled, just as they turned the corner.

JJ had been half leaning on Spencer, just trying to make it despite the pain, when she heard that voice.   Now all she wanted to do was run.  “Where are we going?’  She asked.

“Just there.”  Spencer nodded at a pile of drums stacked on a pallet.

“How are we going to hide…”  JJ gasped as the large pallet levitated and floated away from in front of a door.  The door opened and then Hotch was helping her inside and to the floor. 

Just then gunfire started cracking into the Door above their heads.  JJ heard something heavy scraping behind them as Morgan pushed Will in after them.  “Go!”  Before they could react the door was pulled shut behind them. 

On the far side they heard the distinct sound of a firefight.  “Hotch?”  JJ asked.

He nodded to the phone.  “They’re coming.”  He said.  “Less than thirty, if we can hold out that long.”  He caught her gaze.  “The boys are safe.  They were able to get the attention of an old friend while in transit.  Last they saw Henry was asleep in Rossi’s office.  Your Mom is watching him.”

That was the one thing she needed.  Even if they didn’t make it, even if they died here, Henry was safe.  JJ heard Will let out a breath that seemed endless as she put her head down and wept.

* * *

 

Eva had chosen the rifle over the handgun, stating she was more familiar with the design.  “How much ammo do you have?”  She asked Morgan.

“Not nearly enough.”  He said.

In the seconds between being found and the beginning of the fight Spencer and Sarah had dragged around pallets of barrels and had stacked more on top.  It still didn’t seem like enough to stop the endless hail of bullets but they seemed to be bouncing off nothing.  Eva looked over and saw the two of them sitting there, eyes closed in fierce concentration, the blood spattering Spencer’s shirt in a constant, slow seep.  “How you doing Sparky?”

 _Holding out Captain._   Sarah thought in reply.

“What about your gahana there?”

Sarah quirked a small smile.   _He’s stronger than he looks._   Eva felt her frown.   _I need to concentrate.  This is not easy, especially here._

“What do you mean?”  But then there was another burst of gunfire as someone on the other side finished reloading.  “Can’t you just cancel them like you did on the slaver?”

_No.  They’re all humanoid._

“This is self defense!”

_There are other victims down here.  A lot of them.  I can’t pick out the victims from the attackers._

Eva growled in frustration.  As she watched one brave bastard tried to come in closer.  She poked the muzzle of her weapon through a space between the barrels and cut him down.  “How much longer do you think?”

“Hopefully not too long.”  Morgan said.  Then it was his turn to growl.  “I’m out!”

A moment and another brave bastard later Eva’s rifle also clicked empty.  “Do something Sparky!”

 _Damn it!_   There was a moment’s hesitation and then Eva heard a more urgent thought.   _Get down!_   Eva reached over and pulled Morgan down flat as the barrels started flying, taking out people like they were pins in a bowling alley.

“What happens when they run out of barrels?”  Morgan asked.

“I don’t think I want to know.”  Eva said.

They didn’t run out of barrels.  Moments later someone called out the one sound they were all waiting to hear.  “FBI!”

* * *

 

**1:00 am Sunday**

“We were all assaulted.”  Hotch said firmly.  “And so we are all going to the hospital to be checked out.  No arguments.”

They were standing outside the warehouse, surrounded by every first responder in the Philadelphia area, finally dressed and wrapped in blankets.  Beth, Will and JJ were already in ambulances, being made ready for the trip to the hospital.  Everyone else was just waiting to be cleared.  “If it’s all right with you Sara and I will wait.”  Eva said.  “I’m sure General Davis will want us checked out at Ft. Detrick, there’s a few doctors there who have been studying us for a while now.  Better someone familiar.”

“Of course.”  Hotch said.  “As long as you feel up to the trip.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”  She looked over at Sarah.  “How about you Sparky?”

Spencer and Sarah had been off to one side, curled up in a blanket and in each other.  When it was all over the two of them had been shaking, and Spencer had said he was getting a headache.  Now Sarah nodded, but she was listless, a beat off somehow, paler than normal, her reactions too slow.  She frowned at her friend like she was confused, or like she was hard to see.  “Yeah, I’m…I’m….”

As Hotch and the others watched Spencer slumped to the ground, and Sarah tumbled on top of him as they both slipped into unconsciousness.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17  
4am Sunday**

Spencer slowly swam back toward consciousness.  _Sarah_ he thought, as soon as he took control of his mind again.

 _I’m here._   He felt/saw her then, in that special place they shared _.  You should wake up and talk to Morgan.  We have time._

_All right._

He slowly opened his eyes and blinked as an emergency room ceiling stubbornly refused to come into focus.  After a moment a familiar head moved into his line of vision.  “Morning sleepyhead.”  Morgan said.  He turned toward the door.  “He’s awake.”

“What happened?”  Spencer asked.  His head felt stuffed with cotton, and like it was deciding to have a headache.

“Your blood glucose dropped.”  Blake said as she came in the room.  “As you well know the average human brain uses between 300 and 500 calories every twenty-four hours.  The average Quadrainian brain uses between 400 and 600.  However a Noble can require anywhere from double to quadruple that depending on the work being done.  We can only assume that the same would apply to Earth “nobles” as well.  Couple a lot of work with not having eaten in the past twelve hours and you knocked yourself into a hypoglycemic blackout.  Did you have any indication that it was coming on?”

Spencer flopped back into the bed.  He’d been shaking, he recalled, felt cold and nervous and anxious and confused.  Tired and kind of queasy.  “Now that I think about it.  But I wasn’t really paying attention. At the time.”  He’d been too busy trying to keep the atoms that made up air packed tightly enough to repel bullets.  Kind of a non-trivial problem.

Blake nodded.  “One of the chief duties of a Companion is to remind a Noble that they need to check in with their bodies and take care of themselves because then tend to get wrapped up in things and stop paying attention.”  She gave Morgan a pointed look.

“You’re serious?”  Morgan asked.

“At least when you’re both in the field.  Davis and Hotch are discussing it right now.  Would you rather we assign someone new just to look after him?”

Morgan sighed noisily.  “No.  I’ll do it.  Heck, I do it anyway.”

“Work with Eva to find out what to watch for.”

“I know.”

“How is everyone?”  Spencer asked.  He tried to sit up but the world dipped and spun.

Morgan gently pushed him back to the bed.  “Stay until these bags empty.”   He nodded to where fluid, probably spiked with sugars, was dripping directly into Spencer’s veins.  “Everyone made it out.”

“Sarah is just across the hall.”  Blake told him.  “Dr. Marshall flew out from Ft. Detrick to look after her.  She’s in about the same boat, but they expect you both to make a full recovery and be out of here by noon.  Morgan, Hotch and Eva have already been cleared.”

“What about JJ, Will and Beth?”  Spencer asked.

“Will is better off than they expected.”  Morgan said.  “He took a good beating and is going to need to see the dentist, but it, uhhh, could have been a lot worse.”

Spencer sighed.  At least one of his friends had avoided that fate.  “But JJ and Beth?”

“They’ll recover.”  Blake said.  “Well JJ will, she’s strong.  Beth is going to take more time.”

“How did this happen?” 

Blake shook her head.  “I hate to speak ill of the dead but back when you guys first went up against this gang Erin was…well, there’s no nice way to say it.  She was drinking.  And she didn’t follow through.”

“We were hunting Doyle.”  Morgan said.  “Trying to cope without JJ, recovering from Emily, and that was right when Seaver left, so we were shorthanded to boot.”

“Add it all up, and we dropped the ball.”  Blake said.  “The Bureau thought they cleaned up the entire gang but they only cleared up the DC/Baltimore branch.  They regrouped and came back wanting revenge.”

“And we have not been keeping up on security, dotting all the eyes and crossing all the T’s.”  Morgan said.  “That’s going to change.  Hotch is already going on that warpath.”

“Good.”  Spencer lay back and smiled as he realized he was starting to feel a bit better.  “So now everyone on the team has been read into the Protocol?”

“Yep.”  Morgan said.  “Garcia said that spending the week-end at the cabin with a hot alien princess makes you the king of all nerds.”  Blake swatted him.  “Ow.”

“Everyone’s okay with them?”  Spencer asked.

“If you mean has Rossi invited them over for one of his famous pasta feeds to tell their real story, then yes.”  Blake said.  “If you mean is Sarah going to be irritated with Hotch calling her ‘Ambassador’ all the time?  Probably.”

“Blake, you’ve been studying their language.”  Morgan said.  “What does the term gahana mean?”

Blake considered this for a moment.  “The closest translation would be ‘spoil-of-war’, but the usage has a richer meaning.  It refers to a moment of sweetness, a pure joy found during a time of travail that could only be found by going through the greater experience.”

“And if it was used to refer to a person?”

“I’d say it meant love.”

Spencer lay back and smiled.  _Gahana_?  He thought

 _You are._   She replied.

* * *

 

Sometime later

Reid really didn’t need a Companion, Morgan thought.  Hell, he’d been taking care of not only himself but also his Mom since he was about ten.  Even though he was nominally responsible now, thanks to Davis, he didn’t really have to do anything 99% of the time.  Most of the time this whole Special Gifts thing didn’t even matter, Reid practiced in Sarah and Eva’s living room, or in the building out at Goddard where Sarah and Eva worked, but he very rarely used any of his new skills.  He was still their genius profiler, just as he had always been.

But every once and a while it came in handy.  Like now when a team of Unsubs had been taking young women and there was one missing who happened to be pregnant to boot and if they didn’t find her soon her chances were slim.  They were chasing a member of the team, literally chasing on foot, and if he got away…

Morgan and the local LEO’s were as hot on his tail as he could get but this kid was stupid fast.  By the time he got around the corner the kid had already jumped in the back of a pick-up that was starting to drive away.  “Stop!”  Morgan yelled, pointing his gun at the back of the truck, but it was no use.  They were going to…

The truck didn’t drive away.  Something grabbed it somehow, holding it in place as the back wheels spun rubber into the pavement.  Morgan ran down and pointed his gun at the driver who was frantically trying to shift.  “Hands where I can see them!”  Morgan yelled.  As soon as the Unsubs were well covered he reached in and turned the engine off.

A few minutes later, while the locals got the Unsubs into the cars he snagged a bottle of water from someone’s trunk and turned to Reid, who had caught up with them.  The younger officer was bent over, using a handkerchief to pinch off his nose.  “Another one?”

“I need to learn to relax when I concentrate.”  Spencer replied.  “It’s not as bad as it used to be.”

“Good.”  Morgan had taken to wearing black military style pants in the field, same kind he used to wear back in his cop days, for the large cargo pockets.  Now he pulled out this ridiculously healthy protein barn.  “Eat this.”

Spencer shook his head.  “No, I’m good.  Actually I’m kind of…”

“…queasy?”  They hadn’t eaten since breakfast, hours ago, and holding the truck back against that much force was not exactly light.  Being queasy was the first symptom Reid started to show when his blood sugar dropped.  Morgan held out the bar and water again.  “Eat.”

Spencer checked his nose, sighed, and started in on the snack.

While his friend refueled his brain Morgan went to talk to the cops.  They were standing around, staring mystified at the dug in streaks of rubber on the pavement.  “Good thing his brakes locked up.”  Morgan commented, knowing that the brakes on the truck would be broke momentarily.  “We got lucky there.”

“Yeah.”  One of the cops said, clearly grateful at a simple explanation.  “We did.”

Good.  Morgan looked over at Reid and nodded.  They were not all back together, not by a longshot.  But for now this was good. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends part 1 of this story. Part 2, in which our heroes heal and have to deal with an even greater threat, will be written at some point in the future, but I am even now working on a completely different story which is coming along swimmingly. I hope you all will come along for that ride.
> 
> Once again much thanks to my magnificent Beta Readers REIDFANATIC, who puts up with Science Fiction for me and TheBlindTiger who puts up with fan fiction for me. I could not do this without them both.
> 
> Thank you all very much for reading. I promise Sarah and Eva will return for more.


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